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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Tuning Oxide Properties by Oxygen Vacancy Control During Growth and Annealing
Published on: June 9, 2023
Ultrathin FeOOH Nanolayers with Abundant Oxygen Vacancies on BiVO4 Photoanodes for Efficient Water Oxidation
Beibei Zhang1,2, Lei Wang1, Yajun Zhang1
1State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, National Engineering Research Center for Fine Petrochemical Intermediates, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 730000, Lanzhou, China.
Abstract:
Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a promising method for storing solar energy in the form of hydrogen fuel, but it is greatly hindered by the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, a facile solution impregnation method is developed for growing ultrathin (2 nm) highly crystalline β-FeOOH nanolayers with abundant oxygen vacancies on BiVO4 photoanodes. These exhibited a remarkable photocurrent density of 4.3 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), AM 1.5 G), which is approximately two times higher than that of amorphous FeOOH fabricated by electrodeposition. Systematic studies reveal that the excellent PEC activity should be attributed to their ultrathin crystalline structure and abundant oxygen vacancies, which could effectively facilitate the hole transport/trapping and provide more active sites for water oxidation.
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