Electrosprayed heterojunction WO{sub 3}/BiVO{sub 4} films with nanotextured pillar structure for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-713 (Korea, Republic of)
- Department of Chemistry and Biological Engineering, University at Buffalo (SUNY), Buffalo, New York 14260 (United States)
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451 (Saudi Arabia)
We demonstrate that the addition of a tungsten oxide (WO{sub 3}) layer beneath a bismuth vanadate (BiVO{sub 4}) photocatalyst layer with a nanotextured pillar morphology significantly increases the photocurrent density in photoelectrochemical water splitting. The WO{sub 3}-BiVO{sub 4} bilayer films produced a photocurrent of up to 3.3 mA/cm{sup 2} under illumination at 100 mW/cm{sup 2} (AM1.5 spectrum). The bilayer film was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoelectrochemical methods, which confirmed the superiority of the bilayer film in terms of its morphology and charge separation and transport ability. Both WO{sub 3} and BiVO{sub 4} were deposited by electrostatic spraying under open-air conditions, which resulted in nanotextured pillars of BiVO{sub 4} atop a smooth WO{sub 3} film. The optimal coating conditions are also reported.
- OSTI ID:
- 22398890
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 15; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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