Ultrasonic-assisted preparation of a pinhole-free BiVO₄ photoanode for enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation

Abstract

A pinhole-free BiVO4 electrode was successfully synthesized using an ultrasonic-assisted synthetic method on a conductive substrate. The pinhole-free BiVO4 electrode showed highly improved photoelectrochemical activity for both sulfite oxidation and water oxidation. The blocking recombination processes were examined to clarify the enhanced photoelectrochemical performances.

Understanding Reaction Kinetics by Tailoring Metal Co-catalysts of the BiVO4 Photocatalyst

“…The as-prepared BiVO 4 powder was annealed at 500 °C for 3 h in air to yield crystallized BiVO 4 . 20 An X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed to produce reliable structural information about this material (Figure 1a). The diffraction peaks of the BiVO 4 crystals were indexed to the monoclinic scheelite structure (JCPDS No.…”

“…To elucidate photocatalytic activities, small BiVO 4 crystals were prepared using ultrasonic methods (BiVO 4 sono-crystals). 20 The XRD peaks of the BiVO 4 sono-crystals were indexed to the monoclinic scheelite structure (JCPDS No. 83-1699) (Figure S8a), indicating a well-crystallized BiVO 4 .…”

“…The sealed autoclave was heated in an electric oven at 180 °C for 6 h in air. The as-prepared BiVO 4 powder was annealed at 500 °C for 3 h in air to yield crystallized BiVO 4 . An X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed to produce reliable structural information about this material (Figure a).…”

Understanding and Improving Photocatalytic Activity of Pd-Loaded BiVO4 Microspheres: Application to Visible Light-Induced Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling Reaction

“…BiVO 4 is a typical material that can have a band gap of approximately 2.4 eV and can utilize light in the visible region . BiVO 4 has been intensively studied as a promising photoelectrode for use both in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation and as a heterogeneous photocatalyst for decomposition of organic contaminants in water. − BiVO 4 adopts two scheelite crystal structures, that is, a monoclinic and a tetragonal phase . Monoclinic BiVO 4 is generally synthesized by solid-state or hydrothermal methods at high reaction temperature.…”

Twin Structure in BiVO4 Photoanodes Boosting Water Oxidation Performance through Enhanced Charge Separation and Transport

“…Solution mediated interface recombination through back reduction on exposed FTO has been considered as a non‐negligible energy loss process during PEC water splitting . As shown in Figure S2 (Supporting Information), the prepared BVO films via “one‐step” method were discontinuous films, where the underlying FTO is clearly exposed to the solution.…”