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

In this study, Pt@Cu 2 O/WO 3 composite photocatalyst was constructed via coupling Cu 2 O onto the edged (200) and (020) facets of square-like WO 3 nanoplates and followed by photodeposition of Pt onto Cu 2 O. The remarkably enhanced photocatalytic water oxidation activity over such assembled Pt@Cu 2 O/WO 3 composite photocatalyst was observed. The superior photocatalytic performance can be attributed to intrinsic nature of charge separation between different facets of square-like WO 3 , highly efficient WO 3 -to-Cu 2 O electron transfer occurring at the intimate contact interface between WO 3 and Cu 2 O, 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]