Surface Modulation Inducing Bismuth-Rich Surface Composition in BiVO4 for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Surface engineering affects the photoelectrochemical properties of multinary oxide photoelectrodes. Here, we report a simple alkaline solution treatment of the (010) faceted bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photoanode to increase the surface ratio of bismuth to vanadium, thus improving the performance of photoelectrochemical water oxidation. This study demonstrates that the preferential vanadium dissolution occurs in an alkaline solution, resulting in a bismuth-rich surface on the outer region of the pristine BiVO4 to afford the formation of homojunction within BiVO4. The homojunction promotes the charge separation efficiency of the treated BiVO4 photoanode to reach an almost similar to 100% enhancement at 1.23 V-RHE under simulated sunlight. Upon further loading NiFex cocatalyst, the maximum applied-bias photon-to-current conversion efficiency (ABPE) of treated BiVO4 photoanode also shows a further 100% enhancement in 0.1 M KPi electrolyte. This study sheds light on the critical role of surface termination/composition on the photoelectrochemical properties of the BiVO4 photoanode. This essential surface property can be modulated through a simple strategy to improve its charge transport for efficient water oxidation.

Automated summary

This study presents a simple alkaline solution treatment method to enhance the photoelectrochemical water oxidation performance of bismuth vanadate photoanodes. The treatment increases the surface ratio of bismuth to vanadium, resulting in the formation of a bismuth-rich surface and a homojunction within the material. The treated bismuth vanadate photoanode shows significantly improved charge separation efficiency and photon-to-current conversion efficiency.