Photogenerated carrier-directed modulation of WO3/Bi2WO6 Z-scheme heterojunction for marine anti-corrosion and anti-fouling

Metal corrosion and biofouling in marine environments significantly constrain the long-term service performance of marine equipment. Traditional protection strategies suffer from issues such as low efficiency and insufficient environmental friendliness, necessitating the development of novel, highly efficient, and stable anti-corrosion and anti-fouling materials. In this study, a dual-functional WO3/Bi2WO6 Z-scheme heterojunction photoelectrode was fabricated via a two-step hydrothermal method. The results of UV–visible diffuse reflectance, Mott-Schottky, as well as density functional theory calculations confirmed the successful construction of the Z-type heterojunction. The construction of the Z-scheme heterojunction not only enhances the separation efficiency of photogenerated charge carriers but also directionally regulates their migration pathway, preserving photogenerated electrons with strong reducing capability and photogenerated holes with strong oxidizing capability, therefore, the potential of 316L stainless steel could be negatively shifted by 200 mV, while the sterilization rate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa reached 100% within 60 min.