Solar-Water-Splitting BiVO4 Thin-Film Photoanodes Prepared By Using a Sol-Gel Dip-Coating Technique

Photoelectrochemical performance of a spin coated TiO2 protected BiVO4-Cu2O thin film tandem cell for unassisted solar water splitting

A tandem cell consisting of a Mo-BiVO₄/TiO₂/FeOOH photoanode–Cu₂O/TiO₂/MoS₂ photocathode was prepared for unassisted solar water splitting. The protective TiO₂ layer was prepared by a cost-effective spin coating technique. The individual Mo-BiVO₄/TiO₂/FeOOH photoanode and the Cu₂O/TiO₂/MoS₂ photocathode yielded a current density of ∼0.81 mA cm⁻² at 1.23 V vs. RHE and ∼−1.88 mA cm⁻² at 0 V vs. RHE, respectively under 100 mW cm⁻² xenon lamp illumination. From the individual photoelectrochemical analysis, we identify the operating points of the tandem cell as 0.66 V vs. RHE and 0.124 mA cm⁻². The positive current density from the operating points proves the possibility of non-zero operation of the tandem cell. Finally, a two-electrode Mo-BiVO₄/TiO₂/FeOOH-Cu₂O/TiO₂/MoS₂ tandem cell was constructed and analysed for unassisted operation. The obtained unassisted current density of the tandem cell was ∼65.3 μA cm⁻² with better stability compared to the bare BiVO₄-Cu₂O tandem cell. The results prove that the spin coated TiO₂ protective layer can be a viable approach to protect the photoelectrodes from photocorrosion with better stability and enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance.

Mo-BiVO₄/TiO₂/FeOOH photoanode–Cu₂O/TiO₂/MoS₂ photocathode tandem cells with photoelectrochemical stability testing.

Nanoscale Assembly of BiVO4/CdS/CoOx Core–Shell Heterojunction for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Porous BiVO4 electrodes were conformally decorated with CdS via a chemical bath deposition process. The highest photocurrent at 1.1 V vs. RHE was achieved for a BiVO4/CdS composite (4.54 mA cm−2), compared with CdS (1.19 mA cm−2) and bare BiVO4 (2.1 mA cm−2), under AM 1.5G illumination. This improvement in the photoefficiency can be ascribed to both the enhanced optical absorption properties and the charge separation due to the heterojunction formation between BiVO4 and CdS. Furthermore, the BiVO4/CdS photoanode was protected with a CoOx layer to substantially increase the photostability of the material. The new BiVO4/CdS/CoOx nanostructure exhibited a highly stable photocurrent density of ~5 mA cm−2. The capability to produce O2 was locally investigated by scanning photoelectrochemical microscope, which showed a good agreement between photocurrent and O2 reduction current maps. This work develops an efficient route to improve the photo-electrochemical performance of BiVO4 and its long-term stability.

Synthesis of nanoporous Mo:BiVO4 thin film photoanodes using the ultrasonic spray technique for visible-light water splitting

The use of bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) scheelite structures for converting solar energy into fuels and chemicals for fast growth in lab to industrial scale for large-area modules is a key challenge for further development. Herein, we demonstrate a new ultrasonic spray technique as a scalable and versatile coating technique for coating pristine and doped nanoporous BiVO₄ thin film photoanodes directly on FTO-coated glass substrates for water splitting under visible irradiation. The successful Mo doping in BiVO₄ lattice was confirmed by various characterization techniques such as XRD, Raman, EDS and XPS. The Mo:BiVO₄ photoelectrode showed excellent performance with higher stability as compared to pristine BiVO₄ samples.

Insights into the mechanism and aging of a noble-metal free H2-evolving dye-sensitized photocathode

Co-grafting of a cobalt diimine–dioxime catalyst and push–pull organic dye on NiO yields a photocathode evolving hydrogen from aqueous solution under sunlight, with equivalent performances compared to a dyad-based architecture using similar components.

Dye-sensitized photo-electrochemical cells (DS-PECs) form an emerging technology for the large-scale storage of solar energy in the form of (solar) fuels because of the low cost and ease of processing of their constitutive photoelectrode materials. Preparing such molecular photocathodes requires a well-controlled co-immobilization of molecular dyes and catalysts onto transparent semiconducting materials. Here we used a series of surface analysis techniques to describe the molecular assembly of a push–pull organic dye and a cobalt diimine–dioxime catalyst co-grafted on a p-type NiO electrode substrate. (Photo)electrochemical measurements allowed characterization of electron transfer processes within such an assembly and to demonstrate for the first time that a Co^I species is formed as the entry into the light-driven H₂ evolution mechanism of a dye-sensitized photocathode. This co-grafted noble-metal free H₂-evolving photocathode architecture displays similar performances to its covalent dye–catalyst counterpart based on the same catalytic moiety. Post-operando time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) analysis of these photoelectrodes after extensive photoelectrochemical operation suggested decomposition pathways of the dye and triazole linkage used to graft the catalyst onto NiO, providing grounds for the design of optimized molecular DS-PEC components with increased robustness upon turnover.