Visible-Light-Driven Inactivation of Bacteria and H₂ Generation Catalyzed by Oxygen-Vacancy-Rich One-Dimensional/Two-Dimensional W₁₈O₄₉/g-C₃N₄ 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-2 generation through water reduction and sterilization using Z-scheme systems has been rarely reported. Herein, 1D W18O49 nanowires embedded over 2D g-C3N4 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 W18O49/g-C3N4 nanostructure exhibits superior photocatalytic sterilization activity against Staphylococcus aureus as well as excellent H-2 generation performance under visible-light irradiation (lambda >= 420 nm). Due to its nontoxic nature, W18O49/g-C3N4 holds great potential in eradicating bacterial infections in living organisms.