Investigation on the Mechanism and Inner Impetus of Photogenerated Charge Transfer in WO<sub>3</sub>/ZnO Heterojunction Photocatalysts
Lin He, Sujuan Zhang, Jinfeng Zhang, Gaoli Chen, Sugang Meng, You Fan, Xiuzhen Zheng, Shifu Chen
Abstract
The transfer mechanism of photogenerated charges (e– and h+) has always been a research hotspot of the photocatalysis field. Here, a series of WO3/ZnO composite photocatalysts with different ratios were synthesized, and importantly, the transfer mechanism of photoexcited charges was systematically studied. By performing various characterizations, the direct Z-scheme of WO3/ZnO was proposed, and the results verified that the immanent electric field formed between WO3 and ZnO semiconductors is the inner impetus of charge transfer. This work distinguished the transfer mechanism of photogenerated charges in the heterojunction photocatalyst by the relative p–n junction theory and can also provide guidance for the construction and application of novel heterojunction photocatalysts in theory and practice.