Facile Surfactant-Assisted Synthesis of BiVO4 Nanoparticulate Films for Solar Water Splitting

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4), which has attractive applicability as a photoactive material, presents applications that range from catalysis to water treatment upon visible light irradiation. In this study, we develop a simple synthesis of < 200 nm monoclinic BiVO4 nanoparticles, which were further deposited on transparent conductive substrates by spin coating and calcination, obtaining nanostructured films. The obtained nanostructured BiVO4 photoanodes were tested for water oxidation, leading to promising photocurrents exhibiting competitive onset potentials (~0.3 V vs. RHE). These nanoparticulate BiVO4 photoanodes represent a novel class of highly potential materials for the design of efficient photoelectrochemical devices.

Effects of native defects and cerium impurity on the monoclinic BiVO4 photocatalyst obtained via PBE+U calculations

Under O-rich conditions, during the substitution of V by Ce in the single negatively charged state (Ce1−V) for m-BiVO4, no localized state is found within the calculated band gap so as to improve photocatalysis.