Pt@Cu2O/WO3 composite photocatalyst for enhanced photocatalytic water oxidation performance

In this study, Pt@Cu2O/WO3 composite photocatalyst was constructed via coupling Cu2O onto the edged (200) and (020) facets of square-like WO3 nanoplates and followed by photodeposition of Pt onto Cu2O. The remarkably enhanced photocatalytic water oxidation activity over such assembled Pt@Cu2O/WO3 composite photocatalyst was observed. The superior photocatalytic performance can be attributed to intrinsic nature of charge separation between different facets of square-like WO3, highly efficient WO3-to-Cu2O electron transfer occurring at the intimate contact interface between WO3 and Cu2O, and Pt as reduction cocatalyst. This work will provide new deep insights into the design of crystal-based Z-scheme heterostructure photocatalysts by facet preferentially coupling one semiconductor with another.