The
photoelectrochemical water splitting of monoclinic bismuth
vanadate (BiVO4) suffers from sluggish charge mobility
as well as substantial charge recombination losses. Here, we treated
the BiVO4 by using a photoassisted self-reduction method
based on the fact that the self-reduction potential of BiVO4 is more positive than its conduction band. The BiVO4 photoanode
subjected to this treatment has a more negative onset potential and
higher photovoltage compared with bare BiVO4. Moreover,
its charge carrier density and mobility are increased and accelerated
compared to bare BiVO4. As a result, the charge separation
efficiency reaches to approximate 94% at 1.23 V vs the reversible
hydrogen electrode (RHE), and the photocurrent densities are 3.18
and 5.84 mA/cm2 (at 1.23 V vs RHE) in the absence and presence
of the sacrificial agent, respectively. In particular, the reduced
BiVO4 with electrocatalysts (FeOOH/NiOOH) achieves a photocurrent
of 5.06 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs RHE, which is 2.54 times higher
than that of the bare BiVO4. This approach provides a new
strategy for designing a semiconductor-based photoanode with superior
performance for photoelectrochemical water splitting.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.