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Title: Enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activity in visible-light-driven Ag/BiVO{sub 4} inverse opals

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943181· OSTI ID:22591771
;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Thin Films, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China)
  2. Institute of Physics and IMN MacroNano (ZIK), Ilmenau University of Technology, Ilmenau 98693 (Germany)

BiVO{sub 4} photonic crystal inverse opals (io-BiVO{sub 4}) with highly dispersed Ag nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by the nanosphere lithography method combining the pulsed current deposition method. The incorporation of the Ag NPs can significantly improve the photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activity of BiVO{sub 4} inverse opals in the visible light region. The photocurrent density of the Ag/io-BiVO{sub 4} sample is 4.7 times higher than that of the disordered sample without the Ag NPs, while the enhancement factor of the corresponding kinetic constant in photocatalytic experiment is approximately 3. The improved photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activity is benefited from two reasons: one is the enhanced light harvesting owing to the coupling between the slow light and localized surface plasmon resonance effect; the other is the efficient separation of charge carriers due to the Schottky barriers.

OSTI ID:
22591771
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 108, Issue 9; Other Information: (c) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English