Issue 8, 2016

Photocharged BiVO4 photoanodes for improved solar water splitting

Abstract

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) is a promising semiconductor material for the production of solar fuels via photoelectrochemical water splitting, however, it suffers from substantial recombination losses that limit its performance to well below its theoretical maximum. Here we demonstrate for the first time that the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of BiVO4 photoanodes can be dramatically improved by prolonged exposure to AM 1.5 illumination in the open circuit (OC) configuration. Photoanodes subjected to such light treatment achieve a record photocurrent for undoped and uncatalysed BiVO4 of 3.3 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VRHE. Moreover, photoelectrochemical tests with a sacrificial agent yield significantly enhanced catalytic efficiency over the whole operating potential range, suggesting elimination of major losses at the semiconductor–electrolyte interface. Finally, we demonstrate that this so-called ‘photocharging’ technique induces a considerable cathodic shift in the photocurrent onset potential and increases the photovoltage extracted from BiVO4 photoanodes.

Graphical abstract: Photocharged BiVO4 photoanodes for improved solar water splitting

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 iyn 2015
Accepted
01 iyl 2015
First published
01 iyl 2015
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016,4, 2919-2926

Author version available

Photocharged BiVO4 photoanodes for improved solar water splitting

B. J. Trześniewski and W. A. Smith, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016, 4, 2919 DOI: 10.1039/C5TA04716A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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