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PbS Quantum Dots-Decorated BiVO<sub>4</sub> Photoanodes for Highly Efficient Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production
oleh: Joo-Won Seo, Seung-Beom Ha, In-Cheul Song, Jae-Yup Kim
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2023-02-01 |
Deskripsi
While metal oxides such as TiO<sub>2</sub>, Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, WO<sub>3</sub>, and BiVO<sub>4</sub> have been previously studied for their potential as photoanodes in photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production, their relatively wide band-gap limits their photocurrent, making them unsuitable for the efficient utilization of incident visible light. To overcome this limitation, we propose a new approach for highly efficient PEC hydrogen production based on a novel photoanode composed of BiVO<sub>4</sub>/PbS quantum dots (QDs). Crystallized monoclinic BiVO<sub>4</sub> films were prepared via a typical electrodeposition process, followed by the deposition of PbS QDs using a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method to form a p-n heterojunction. This is the first time that narrow band-gap QDs were applied to sensitize a BiVO<sub>4</sub> photoelectrode. The PbS QDs were uniformly coated on the surface of nanoporous BiVO<sub>4</sub>, and their optical band-gap was reduced by increasing the number of SILAR cycles. However, this did not affect the crystal structure and optical properties of the BiVO<sub>4</sub>. By decorating the surface of BiVO<sub>4</sub> with PbS QDs, the photocurrent was increased from 2.92 to 4.88 mA/cm<sup>2</sup> (at 1.23 V<sub>RHE</sub>) for PEC hydrogen production, resulting from the enhanced light-harvesting capability arising from the narrow band-gap of the PbS QDs. Moreover, the introduction of a ZnS overlayer on the BiVO<sub>4</sub>/PbS QDs further improved the photocurrent to 5.19 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>, attributed to the reduction in interfacial charge recombination.