In Situ Construction of a Two-Dimensional Heterojunction by Stacking Bismuth Trioxide Nanoplates with Reduced Graphene Oxide for Enhanced Water Oxidation Performance

In this study, a two-dimensional heterojunction consisting of bismuth trioxide nanoplates and layered reduced graphene oxide was synthesized using a facile in situ growth route. A series of characterization tests indicated that the reduction of graphene oxide played a key role as an electron collector for enhancing photoinduced charge carrier separation efficiency. Thus, the as-prepared reduced graphene oxide/bismuth trioxide composite exhibited enhanced photocatalytic water oxidation, which was higher than that of pristine bismuth trioxide under simulated solar light irradiation. Furthermore, the photoelectrochemical properties of the prepared hybrid system were investigated to understand the transfer of photoinduced electrons and holes between layered reduced graphene oxide and bismuth trioxide nanoplates. Thus, this strategy provided an efficient approach for the fabrication of graphene composites containing hierarchical ternary oxides for photocatalysis.