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Updated: Jun 10, 2025
A Facile Synthetic Method to Obtain Bismuth Oxyiodide Microspheres Highly Functional for the Photocatalytic Processes of Water Depuration
Published on: March 29, 2019
Precursor Development and Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition for BiVO4 and W-Doped BiVO4 Photoanodes: A
Thom R Harris-Lee1,2, Matthew K Surman1, Andrew J Straiton1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
Abstract:
Green hydrogen production is a key area of importance for advancing into a completely sustainable world, not only for its use in industry and ammonia production, but also for its potential as a new fuel. One promising method for generating green hydrogen is light-driven water splitting using photoelectrodes. Here, a bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photoanode deposition process was developed using new, bespoke dual-source precursors, tailored for use in aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD). The resulting thin films were highly nanostructured and consisted of phase-pure monoclinic BiVO4. Pristine films under 1 sun solar irradiation yielded photocurrent densities of 1.23 mA cm-2 at 1.23 V vs RHE and a peak incident photon-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 82 % at 674 nm, the highest performance of any CVD-grown BiVO4 film to date. A new, AACVD-compatible WO3 precursor was subsequently designed and synthesised for the deposition of W-doped BiVO4 within the same single deposition step.
