Bi2WO6/red phosphorus heterojunction photocatalyst with excellent visible light photodegrading activity

[Display omitted] •Bi2WO6/HRP heterojunction photocatalysts with excellent performance were prepared.•Bi2WO6/HRP showed robust visible-light photoactivity for RhB degradation.•The spherical Bi2WO6 were uniformly attached to the surface of HRP to form a tight contacted interface.•Heterojunction structure improved light utilization and separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. Red phosphorus (RP) was limited in photocatalytic activity due to the rapid recombination of photogenerated carriers. In this study, bismuth tungstate/hydrothermally treated Red phosphorus (Bi2WO6/HRP) heterojunction photocatalyst was prepare. The 1 %Bi2WO6/HRP composite exhibited strong photocatalytic performance, and the photodegradation rate of RhB after 12 min was as high as 98.9 %, which was much higher than that of HRP (53.0 %). Further characterization findings that the between HRP and Bi2WO6 formed heterojunction structure, which provided a pathway for the rapid transported of photogenerated carriers, allowing the effective separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, thus improved its photocatalytic activity.