Visible-Light-Driven Inactivation of Bacteria and H Generation Catalyzed by Oxygen-Vacancy-Rich One-Dimensional/Two-Dimensional WO/g-CN Z-Scheme Heterostructures.

Z-scheme heterostructure-based photocatalysts consist of a reduction photocatalyst and an oxidation photocatalyst, enabling them to possess a high capacity for both reduction and oxidation. However, the coupling reaction between photocatalytic H generation through water reduction and sterilization using Z-scheme systems has been rarely reported. Herein, 1D WO nanowires embedded over 2D g-CN nanosheets are well-constructed as an integrated Z-scheme heterojunction. Experimental results and density functional theory calculations not only demonstrate the achievement of efficient interfacial charge separation and transport, leading to prolonged lifetime of photogenerated charge carriers, but also directly confirm the mechanism of Z-scheme charge transfer. As expected, the optimized WO/g-CN nanostructure exhibits superior photocatalytic sterilization activity against as well as excellent H generation performance under visible-light irradiation (λ ≥ 420 nm). Due to its nontoxic nature, WO/g-CN holds great potential in eradicating bacterial infections in living organisms.