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Elaborately Modified BiVO 4 Photoanodes for Solar Water Splitting
Author(s) -
Kim Jin Hyun,
Lee Jae Sung
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201806938
Subject(s) - materials science , water splitting , nanotechnology , passivation , renewable energy , heterojunction , oxide , solar energy , band gap , tandem , doping , optoelectronics , photocatalysis , chemistry , catalysis , electrical engineering , biochemistry , engineering , layer (electronics) , metallurgy , composite material
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells for solar‐energy conversion have received immense interest as a promising technology for renewable hydrogen production. Their similarity to natural photosynthesis, utilizing sunlight and water, has provoked intense research for over half a century. Among many potential photocatalysts, BiVO 4 , with a bandgap of 2.4–2.5 eV, has emerged as a highly promising photoanode material with a good chemical stability, environmental inertness, and low cost. Unfortunately, its charge transport properties are modest, at most a hole diffusion length ( L p ) of ≈70 nm. However, recent rapid developments in multiple modification strategies have elevated it to a position as the most promising metal oxide photoanode material. This review summarizes developments in BiVO 4 photoanodes in the past 10 years, in which time it has continuously broken its own performance records for PEC water oxidation. Effective modification techniques are discussed, including synthesis of nanostructures/nanopores, external/internal doping, heterojunction fabrication, surface passivation, and cocatalysts. Tandem systems for unassisted solar water splitting and PEC production of value‐added chemicals are also discussed.