Synthesis of an Ag2WO4/Ti3C2 Schottky composite by electrostatic traction and its photocatalytic activity

The reduction and low current-carrying charge of Ag2WO4 limit its application in photocatalysis; thus, a cocatalyst that can improve the stability of Ag(2)WO(4 )is urgently needed. Here, we successfully synthesized an Ag2WO4/Ti3C2 composite material and found that the presence of conductive Ti3C2 greatly enhanced the catalytic activity and corrosion resistance of Ag2WO4. Notably, the properties exhibited by the cocatalyst resulted in excellent application prospects that solve the above problems as follows: (1) The large surface area and exposed groups of Ti3C2 not only make the heterogeneous Ag2WO4 catalyst more practical to prepare but also serve as possible growth sites for additional nanostructures, and (2) the metallic conductivity of Ti3C2 ensures efficient photoinduced charge transport and increases the charge-carrier lifetime of Ag2WO4/Ti3C2 (34.5 mu s). Notably, the Ag2WO4/Ti3C2 composite has good photocatalytic activity. The photocatalytic removal rates for tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) and sulfadimidine (SFE) were 62.9% and 88.6%, respectively. The experimental results showed that this Schottky heterojunction can be used as a photocatalytic material.