Point defects in piezoelectric semiconductors play a significant role in regulating the piezocatalytic performance. However, the role of metal vacancies in piezocatalysis has been less explored than that of oxygen vacancies. Herein, Bi2WO6 (BWO) nanosheets with tunable Bi defects were synthesized using an ion exchange method. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy directly revealed the existence of Bi vacancies in the lattice of BWO nanosheets and the precipitation of Bi quasiparticles. The BWO nanosheets with the highest concentration of Bi vacancies exhibited an excellent decomposition efficiency (7.83 × 10-2 min-1) over rhodamine B under ultrasound. The phenomenon is mainly attributed to the increased charge carrier concentration as a consequence of defect energy levels. In addition, the significant enhancement of light absorption capacity caused by the surface plasmon resonance effect of quasiparticles indicates that Bi ions escape from the lattice and combine with free electrons around BWO to form Bi quantum dots, which function as electron traps to facilitate the separation of charge carriers during the piezocatalytic process. This work systematically reveals the essential affiliation of metal vacancies and surface metal clusters in piezocatalysts and verifies the significance of vacancy engineering in piezocatalytic application.
Keywords: Bi quantum dots; Bi vacancies; Bi2WO6 nanosheets; dye degradation; piezocatalysis.