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A Theoretical Study on the Mechanism of Photocatalytic Oxygen Evolution on BiVO 4 in Aqueous Solution
Author(s) -
Yang Jingxiu,
Wang Donge,
Zhou Xin,
Li Can
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201202365
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , oxygen evolution , monoclinic crystal system , water splitting , semiconductor , aqueous solution , adsorption , oxygen , materials science , electronic structure , chemical physics , nanotechnology , chemistry , crystallography , computational chemistry , catalysis , crystal structure , optoelectronics , electrochemistry , biochemistry , organic chemistry , electrode
The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is regarded as one of the key issues in achieving efficient photocatalytic water splitting. Monoclinic scheelite BiVO 4 is a visible‐light‐responsive semiconductor which has proved to be effective for oxygen evolution. Recently, the synthesis of a series of monoclinic BiVO 4 single crystals was reported, and it was found that the (010), (110), and (011) facets are highly exposed and that the photocatalytic O 2 evolution activity depends on the degree of exposure of the (010) facets. To explore the properties of and photocatalytic water oxidation reaction on different facets, DFT calculations were performed to investigate the geometric structure, optical properties, electronic structure, water adsorption, and the whole OER free‐energy profiles on BiVO 4 (010) and (011) facets. The calculated results suggest both favorable and unfavorable factors for OER on the (010) and the (011) facets. Due to the combined effects of the above‐mentioned factors, different facets exhibit quite different photocatalytic activities.