The development of stable and efficient photocatalysts is a basic requirement for photocatalytic treatment of heavy metal pollutants. For this study, a composite photocatalyst (W_xS_1-x) consisting of hierarchical nano-sphere wurtzite with exposed active facets and natural sphalerite was constructed. Optimized as W_0.4S_0.6, it was able to reduce Cr (VI) at an efficiency of 97.11% in 30 min via photocatalysis, which was 4.20 times that of natural sphalerite. The key factors enhancing the photocatalytic performance of WS are the exposed active facets of wurtzite, the heterogeneous transition layer and the inherent mineralization defects of natural sphalerite, all combining to increase vacancies. Furthermore, the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes is more efficient thanks to the built-in electric field induced by the active facets and the heterophase junction, which contributes to the material’s overall photocatalytic efficiency. Multiple characterizations were done, revealing the photocatalytic mechanism that was just outlined. This study provides a new approach to constructing high-efficiency and low-cost photocatalysts by combining defect engineering and heterojunction design.

稳定高效的光催化剂的开发是光催化处理重金属污染物的基本要求。为了进行这项研究，构建了一种复合光催化剂（W _x S _1-x），该光催化剂由具有暴露活性面的分层纳米球纤锌矿和天然闪锌矿组成。优化为W _0.4 S _0.6，它能够在30分钟内通过光催化以97.11％的效率还原Cr（VI），这是天然闪锌矿的4.20倍。增强WS的光催化性能的关键因素是纤锌矿的暴露活性面，非均质过渡层和天然闪锌矿的固有矿化缺陷，所有这些共同增加了空位。此外，由于活性面和异相结感应的内置电场，光生电子和空穴的分离更加有效，这有助于材料的整体光催化效率。进行了多次表征，揭示了刚刚概述的光催化机理。