Dewetted Silver Nanoparticle-Dispersed WO3 Heterojunction Nanostructures on Glass Fibers for Efficient Visible-Light-Active Photocatalysis by Magnetron Sputtering.

Abstract

Fabrication of hybrid-heterojunction nanostructures comprising the Z-scheme and localized surface plasmon resonance is essential for enhancing the photocatalytic degradation of organic compounds to enable environmental remediation. This study focuses on the dispersion of dewetted Ag nanoparticles over the 3D network-like silica glass fibers (SGFs) coated with a Cu-doped WO3 heterojunction system by a high-throughput and cost-effective method using magnetron sputtering, followed by solid-state dewetting. The influence of Cu doping on the crystal structure, growth direction, and morphology of WO3 and the effect of localized surface diffusion-driven dewetted Ag nanoparticles on the photocatalytic performance were investigated. The Cu doping changed the optical band gap, and the 2Cu–WO3/SGF exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity. The surface dispersion of dewetted Ag nanoparticles over Cu–WO3/SGFs exhibited lowest photoluminescence intensity, indicating the effective separation of photogenerated electrons–holes, which led to highest efficiency (∼98%) in photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue among all the fibers with a degradation rate constant (k = 0.0205 min–1) that was ∼18.6 times higher than that of pure WO3 (k = 0.0011 min–1). The findings of this study can provide insights for designing low-cost and efficient visible-light-active photocatalysts for organic dye degradation, enabling environmental remediation.