High throughput discovery of enhanced visible photoactivity in Fe-Cr vanadate solar fuels photoanodes

Metal oxide solar absorbers are well suited for photoelectrochemical applications where requisite properties include stability in highly oxidizing environments, in addition to solar energy conversion. Metal vanadates are of particular interest due to their relatively low band gap energies compared to traditional, wide-gap photocatalysts. Concerted efforts on BiVO4-based photoanodes have revealed multiple avenues for improving the solar conversion efficiencies for photon energies above 2.5 eV but have not addressed the ultimate performance limitations from the undesirably high band gap energy. Fe and Cr vanadates have a lower band gap and thus a higher potential solar conversion efficiency, although to-date the absorbed 2-2.5 eV photons are not effectively converted to the desired anodic photocurrent. By using combinatorial synthesis and high throughput screening, we demonstrate that cation substitutions with the monoclinic MVO4 phase (M = Cr, Fe) improves the utilization of photons in this energy range. Given the portfolio of photoanode improvement techniques available, we suggest optimization of (Cr0.5Fe0.5)VO4-based photoanodes as a promising path for enable solar fuel technologies.

Automated summary

Metal oxide solar absorbers have great potential for solar energy conversion. By improving metal vanadates, such as iron and chromium vanadates, the conversion efficiency can be increased. Combinatorial synthesis and high throughput screening can improve the utilization of photons in specific energy ranges.