The
formation of heterojunctions between semiconductors with distinct
properties usually expands their capabilities. In this context, many
methodologies have been employed in pursuing efficient and fruitful
heterojunctions. However, poor attention has been paid to the employment
of photonics-based strategies, which lately demonstrated to have great
potential for the structural modification of semiconductors. In the
current work, we report the laser-mediated generation of heterojunctions
between Ag2CrO4 and Bi2O3, two semiconductors with contrasting properties. The products were
prepared by the laser irradiation of different semiconductor’s
mixture ratios and further analyzed using various electron- and photon-based
characterization techniques, different from mechanical grinding, which
is considered the most straightforward way to obtain heterojunctions.
The laser’s intense optical field prompted not only the formation
of tight and uniform junctions between the composing semiconductors
but also induced Ag and Bi nanoparticles’ production on their
surfaces. This resulted in a modulation of the optical band gap to
the narrowest value found in the semiconductor components and low
recombination of the photoinduced charge carriers regardless of the
amount ratio of the composing semiconductors. Therefore, this work
will be of great importance for the creation of materials with a potential
exploitability in the light-powered sectors.