We demonstrate that the addition of a tungsten oxide (WO3) layer beneath a bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photocatalyst layer with a nanotextured pillar morphology significantly increases the photocurrent density in photoelectrochemical water splitting. The WO3-BiVO4 bilayer films produced a photocurrent of up to 3.3 mA/cm2 under illumination at 100 mW/cm2 (AM1.5 spectrum). The bilayer film was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoelectrochemical methods, which confirmed the superiority of the bilayer film in terms of its morphology and charge separation and transport ability. Both WO3 and BiVO4 were deposited by electrostatic spraying under open-air conditions, which resulted in nanotextured pillars of BiVO4 atop a smooth WO3 film. The optimal coating conditions are also reported.
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13 April 2015
Research Article|
April 16 2015
Electrosprayed heterojunction WO3/BiVO4 films with nanotextured pillar structure for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting
Mukund G. Mali;
Mukund G. Mali
a)
1School of Mechanical Engineering,
Korea University
, Seoul 136-713, South Korea
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Hyun Yoon;
Hyun Yoon
a)
1School of Mechanical Engineering,
Korea University
, Seoul 136-713, South Korea
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Min-woo Kim;
Min-woo Kim
1School of Mechanical Engineering,
Korea University
, Seoul 136-713, South Korea
2Green School,
Korea University
, Seoul 136-713, South Korea
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Mark T. Swihart;
Mark T. Swihart
3Department of Chemistry and Biological Engineering,
University at Buffalo (SUNY)
, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA
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Salem S. Al-Deyab;
Salem S. Al-Deyab
4Department of Chemistry, College of Science,
King Saud University
, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
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Sam S. Yoon
Sam S. Yoon
b)
1School of Mechanical Engineering,
Korea University
, Seoul 136-713, South Korea
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a)
M. G. Mali and H. Yoon contributed equally to this work.
b)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: skyoon@korea.ac.kr
Appl. Phys. Lett. 106, 151603 (2015)
Article history
Received:
March 06 2015
Accepted:
April 07 2015
Citation
Mukund G. Mali, Hyun Yoon, Min-woo Kim, Mark T. Swihart, Salem S. Al-Deyab, Sam S. Yoon; Electrosprayed heterojunction WO3/BiVO4 films with nanotextured pillar structure for enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting. Appl. Phys. Lett. 13 April 2015; 106 (15): 151603. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4918583
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