Ag doped Bi2O2(WO4) x Cl2(1-x) solid solution for enhanced photocatalytic pollutant degradation and photoelectrochemical water splitting to H2

Highlights: • Ag doped Bi₂O₂(WO₄)_xCl_2(1-x) solid solution (AgBWOCl) were sythesized via a one-pot method. • It exhibited excellent performance for PEC H₂ generation and organic pollutant photodegradation. • The photocatalytic mechanism and the charge migration pathway for AgBWOCl was proposed. Solid solution Bi₂O₂(WO₄)_xCl_2(1-x) nanosheets (BWOCl) have been successfully synthesized via a facile one-step direct precipitation method for photocatalytic pollutant degradation and PEC H₂ production by water splitting, which displayed much better photocatalytic performance than that of pure Bi₂WO₆ and BiOCl. The maximum photocurrent density of the BWOCl-1-2 photocathode at 0.25 V vs. RHE is about 1.3-fold and 2.2-fold that of the pristine BiOCl and Bi₂WO₆ photoelectrodes, respectively. Furthermore, Upon doping of Ag⁺ into BWOCl, the multi-component nanosheet AgBWOCl was formed, which further improved its photocatalytic performance. The UV–vis DRS and PEC study reveal that the appropriate band gap, high conduction band edge position and rapid transfer and separation of photoinduced charges lead to its excellent photocatalytic performance. The photocatalytic mechanism and the charge migration pathway for AgBWOCl were further proposed.