Plasma treatment enhanced piezo-photocatalytic performance of Bi2WO6 for efficient degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride

Photocatalysis is limited by the high recombination rate of photogenerated e - and h + , but the piezoelectric effect can enhance the separation efficiency of charge carriers, so that the combining piezoelectric catalysis with photocatalysis is a highly promising approach for improving catalytic performance. In this study, aim to enhance piezo-photocatalytic performance, plasma treatment was applied to modify the surface of Bi 2 WO 6 to form oxygen vacancies . After plasma treatment, Bi 2 WO 6 exhibited a larger specific surface area, thinner thickness, narrower band gap, etc. These improvements have been confirmed to enhance the piezoelectric response of Bi 2 WO 6 , facilitate band bending and further improve the absorption of visible light , accelerate the separation of charge carriers, thus enhanced the piezo-photocatalytic activity. Consequently, utilization of plasma treatment had improved greatly the piezo-photocatalytic performance of Bi 2 WO 6 for the degradation of tetracycline hydrochloride . Impressively, plasma treatment promoted the generation of 1 O 2 during the piezo-photocatalytic reaction, emphasizing the advantages of utilizing plasma treatment for improving the performance of piezo-photocatalysts. This work highlights the use of plasma treatment to increase active sites and induce vacancy defects on the surface of catalysts, which exhibit excellent piezo-photocatalytic degradation performance and show great potential in the field of environmental remediation.