Premium
Understanding the Roles of NiO x in Enhancing the Photoelectrochemical Performance of BiVO 4 Photoanodes for Solar Water Splitting
Author(s) -
Zhang Mengyuan,
Antony Rajini P.,
Chiam Sing Yang,
Abdi Fatwa Firdaus,
Wong Lydia Helena
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201801780
Subject(s) - photocurrent , bismuth vanadate , non blocking i/o , materials science , water splitting , photoelectrochemistry , chemical engineering , electrode , catalysis , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , chemistry , electrochemistry , photocatalysis , biochemistry , engineering
Solar water oxidation is considered as a promising method for efficient utilization of solar energy and bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) is a potential photoanode. Catalyst loading on BiVO 4 is often used to tackle the limitations of charge recombination and sluggish kinetics. In this study, amorphous nickel oxide (NiO x ) is loaded onto Mo‐doped BiVO 4 by photochemical metal–organic deposition method. The resulting NiO x /Mo:BiVO 4 photoanodes demonstrate a two‐fold improvement in photocurrent density (2.44 mA cm −2 ) at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) compared with the uncatalyzed samples. After NiO x modification the charge‐separation and charge‐transfer efficiencies improve significantly across the entire potential range. It is further elucidated by open‐circuit photovoltage (OCP), time‐resolved‐microwave conductivity (TRMC), and rapid‐scan voltammetry (RSV) measurements that NiO x modification induces larger band bending and promotes efficient charge transfer on the surface of BiVO 4 . This work provides insight into designing BiVO 4 ‐catalyst assemblies by using a simple surface‐modification route for efficient solar water oxidation.