1D ZnO/BiVO4 heterojunction photoanodes for efficient photoelectrochemical water splitting

In this paper, a novel ZnO nanorods (NRs)/BiVO4 heterojunction has been successfully prepared as a photoanode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Firstly, ZnO NRs were synthesized by chemical bath deposition onto indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass. Then BiVO4 was deposited by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR). The photocurrent density of ZnO NRs and the ZnO NRs/BiVO4 heterojunction photoanode was evaluated under light irradiation. And the value was up to 1.72 mA cm(-2) at 1.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl based on the ZnO NRs/BiVO4 photoanode in the electrolyte solution, which is higher than that of the pure ZnO NRs photoanode at the same potential. It is demonstrated that the presence of BiVO4 has played an important role in expanding the spectral response region and reducing the photo-generated charge recombination rate. This present work provides a simple synthesis route to construct a heterojunction which serves as a photoanode for PEC water splitting.