Enhancement of charge separation in ferroelectric heterogeneous photocatalyst Bi₄(SiO₄)₃/Bi₂SiO₅ nanostructures

The photocatalytic activity of ferroelectric materials is highly influenced by the main direction of charge separation, originating from spontaneous polarization. In this work, unique bismuth silicate based zero-dimensional (0D)/two-dimensional (2D) heterogeneous nanostructures were successfully constructed. In contrast to either individual pristine phase, this heterogeneous structure exhibited much enhanced photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of Rhodamine B and phenol. The synergistic effects of high polarization in 2D ferroelectric Bi₂SiO₅ nanosheets and the band bending at the 0D-2D interface of the heterostructures have been proved to accelerate the photoinduced charge separation and the movement of separated carriers to the interface, which further improves the photodegradation performance. This work provides a novel strategy for adjusting the photoinduced carrier transfer route in the ferroelectric materials and designing novel photocatalysts with ultrafast charge separation and large active surface area.