Reactive Oxygenated Species Generated on Iodide‐Doped BiVO4/BaTiO3 Heterostructures with Ag/Cu Nanoparticles by Coupled Piezophototronic Effect and Plasmonic Excitation

An effective generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is of interest from the perspective of environmental technology and industrial chemistry, and here piezocatalysis and photocatalysis using heterostructures based on iodide‐doped BiVO4/BaTiO3 with photodeposited Ag or Cu nanoparticles (BiVO4:I/BTO‐Ag or BiVO4:I/BTO‐Cu) is studied. The generation rates of •OH and •O2− radicals over BiVO4:I/BTO‐Ag during piezophotocatalysis are 371 and 292 µmol g−1 h−1, respectively, and significantly higher than those of sole piezocatalysis and photocatalysis. These rates are among the highest reported for the production of free radicals with the piezophototronic effect. Among the catalysts, BiVO4:I/BTO shows the highest reactivity for the production of H2O2 in piezocatalysis (with a concentration of 468 µm after 100 min of irradiation, and still constantly increasing). On BiVO4:I/BTO‐Ag and BiVO4:I/BTO‐Cu, it seems that redundant electrons and holes had reacted effectively with the generated H2O2 and in turn had reduced their activities; however, the amounts of H2O2 that are formed on BiVO4:I/BTO‐Ag or BiVO4:I/BTO‐Cu under piezophotocatalysis are superior to those of individual piezocatalysis and photocatalysis. A piezophototronic coupling via an ultrasound‐mediated and piezoelectric‐based polarization field and photoexcitation accounting for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of the iodine‐doped heterostructures with plasmonically sized Ag or Cu nanoparticles is suggested.