Self-Interspersed mesoporous nanoplates assembled WO₃ boosts photoelectrocatalytic pollutants degradation: Enhancing separation and transfer of hole/electron pairs

Photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) technology requires catalysts with narrow bandgap for high visible-light activity and efficient charge separation. In this study, self-interspersed porous nanoplates assembled WO₃ (s-i-WO₃) are synthesized via a dissolution-calcination method in the absence of templates. The results show that the s-i-WO₃ catalyst exhibits excellent PEC activity and high stability. The bisphenol A (BPA) degradation efficiency of PEC system (93.7%) is significantly higher than those of photocatalysis (22.0%) and electrocatalysis (43.8%) systems. The two-dimensional porous structure and small-size mesopores of s-i-WO₃ improve PEC reactions by enlarging specific surface area and providing more catalytic sites. Furthermore, the self-interspersed structure promotes the separation and transfer of photogenerated electron/hole pairs under light irradiation. Moreover, hydroxyl radicals are demonstrated to be the most prevalent reactive oxygen species in the developed PEC system. Our work sheds light on designing photoelectrocatalysts with high visible-light activity, abundant catalytic sites, and efficient charge separation.