Enhanced Charge Separation in Nanoporous BiVO4 by External Electron Transport Layer Boosts Solar Water Splitting

The optimization of charge transport with electron-hole separation directed toward specific redox reactions is a crucial mission for artificial photosynthesis. Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4, BVO) is a popular photoanode material for solar water splitting, but it faces tricky challenges in poor charge separation due to its modest charge transport properties. Here, a concept of the external electron transport layer (ETL) is first proposed and demonstrated its effectiveness in suppressing the charge recombination both in bulk and at surface. Specifically, a conformal carbon capsulation applied on BVO enables a remarkable increase in the charge separation efficiency, thanks to its critical roles in passivating surface charge-trapping sites and building external conductance channels. Through decorated with an oxygen evolution catalyst to accelerate surface charge transfer, the carbon-encased BVO (BVO@C) photoanode manifests durable water splitting over 120 h with a high current density of 5.9 mA cm(-2) at 1.23 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) under 1 sun irradiation (100 mW cm(-2), AM 1.5 G), which is an activity-stability trade-off record for single BVO light absorber. This work opens up a new avenue to steer charge separation via external ETL for solar fuel conversion.

Automated summary

The concept of an external electron transport layer (ETL) is proposed to improve the charge separation efficiency of bismuth vanadate (BiVO4, BVO) photoanode. By applying a conformal carbon capsulation, the charge recombination is suppressed and the external conductance channels are built. The carbon-encased BVO (BVO@C) photoanode shows durable water splitting with high current density, which is a record for single BVO light absorber.