Porous flexible structure mediated synergistic boost of built-in electric field and photothermal effect for enhanced photocatalysis

The migration and separation behavior of photoinduced electrons and holes are crucial factors for photocatalytic efficiency. Elevating the reaction temperature accelerates the kinetics of carrier migration, while the construction of heterojunctions and built-in electric fields facilitates effective carrier separation. Herein, a Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 -PbTiO 3 -PVDF sponge with outstanding photothermal piezo-photocatalytic performance was fabricated for the first time. The photocatalytic performance of Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 -PbTiO 3 -PVDF sponge is 2.69 times that of PbTiO 3 -PVDF sponge and the piezo-photocatalytic performance is better than both photocatalytic and piezocatalytic performance. The synergism of built-in electric field and photothermal effect not only accelerates carriers but also separates them, creating more active carriers for elevated catalytic performance. Furthermore, the excellent elasticity and stability make the porous flexible sponge structure suitable for practical applications. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations and finite element simulations further support the experimental data and the proposed reaction mechanism. This work focuses on the controlling of carriers through electric fields and photothermal effects, providing a novel strategy for the design and development of high-performance photocatalytic composites. Efficient piezo-photocatalytic performance realized by Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 -PbTiO 3 -PVDF porous sponge. Download: Download high-res image (251KB) Download: Download full-size image