Significant photocatalytic enhancement in methylene blue degradation of Bi2WO6 photocatalysts via graphene hybridization

The hybridization of graphene with Bi2WO6 photocatalysts was employed to enhance the photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic activity enhancements were dependent on the amount of graphene and it was found that the optimal hybridized amount of graphene was about 1.5 wt%, which was close to the monolayer dispersing of graphene on Bi2WO6 surface. Up to four times of the photocatalytic activity was enhanced by the hybridization of graphene, compared with that of pristine Bi2WO6. The enhancement mechanism of the photocatalytic activity was attributed to the higher separation efficiency and the inhibition of recombination of photoinduced electron-hole pairs. The electronic interaction was verified by the photoelectrochemical measurements.