An Efficient Strategy for Boosting Photogenerated Charge Separation by Using Porphyrins as Interfacial Charge Mediators

Surface recombination at the photoanode/electrolyte junction seriously impedes photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. Through coating of photoanodes with oxygen evolution catalysts, the photocurrent can be enhanced; however, current systems for water splitting still suffer from high recombination. We describe herein a novel charge transfer system designed with BiVO₄ as a prototype. In this system, porphyrins act as an interfacial‐charge‐transfer mediator, like a volleyball setter, to efficiently suppress surface recombination through higher hole‐transfer kinetics rather than as a traditional photosensitizer. Furthermore, we found that the introduction of a “setter” can ensure a long lifetime of charge carriers at the photoanode/electrolyte interface. This simple interface charge‐modulation system exhibits increased photocurrent density from 0.68 to 4.75 mA cm^?2 and provides a promising design strategy for efficient photogenerated charge separation to improve PEC performance.     

Towards Long‐Term Photostability of Nickel Hydroxide/BiVO4 Photoanodes for Oxygen Evolution Catalysts via In Situ Catalyst Tuning

Increasing long‐term photostability of BiVO₄ photoelectrode is an important issue for solar water splitting. The NiOOH oxygen evolution catalyst (OEC) has fast water oxidation kinetics compared to the FeOOH OEC. However, it generally shows a lower photoresponse and poor stability because of the more substantial interface recombination at the NiOOH/BiVO₄ junction. Herein, we utilize a plasma etching approach to reduce both interface/surface recombination at NiOOH/BiVO₄ and NiOOH/electrolyte junctions. Further, adding Fe²⁺ into the borate buffer electrolyte alleviates the active but unstable character of etched‐NiOOH/BiVO₄, leading to an outstanding oxygen evolution over 200 h. The improved charge transfer and photostability can be attributed to the active defects and a mixture of NiOOH/NiO/Ni in OEC induced by plasma etching. Metallic Ni acts as the ion source for the in situ generation of the NiFe OEC over long‐term durability.     

Enriched Surface Oxygen Vacancies of Photoanodes by Photoetching with Enhanced Charge Separation

A facile photoetching approach is described that alleviates the negative effects from bulk defects by confining the oxygen vacancy (O_vac) at the surface of BiVO₄ photoanode, by 10‐minute photoetching. This strategy could induce enriched O_vac at the surface of BiVO₄, which avoids the formation of excessive bulk defects. A mechanism is proposed to explain the enhanced charge separation at the BiVO₄ /electrolyte interface, which is supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The optimized BiVO₄ with enriched surface O_vac presents the highest photocurrent among undoped BiVO₄ photoanodes. Upon loading FeOOH/NiOOH cocatalysts, photoetched BiVO₄ photoanode reaches a considerable water oxidation photocurrent of 3.0 mA cm^?2 at 0.6 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode. An unbiased solar‐to‐hydrogen conversion efficiency of 3.5 % is realized by this BiVO₄ photoanode and a Si photocathode under 1 sun illumination.     

Highly Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting with an Immobilized Molecular Co4O4 Cubane Catalyst

Molecular Co₄O₄ cubane water oxidation catalysts were combined with BiVO₄ electrodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. The results show that tuning the substituent groups on cobalt cubane allows the PEC properties of the final molecular catalyst/BiVO₄ hybrid photoanodes to be tailored. Upon loading a new cubane complex featuring alkoxy carboxylato bridging ligands ( 1 h ) on BiVO₄, an AM 1.5G photocurrent density of 5 mA cm⁻² at 1.23 V vs. RHE for water oxidation was obtained, the highest photocurrent for undoped BiVO₄ photoanodes. A high solar‐energy conversion efficiency of 1.84 % was obtained for the integrated photoanode, a sixfold enhancement over that of unmodified BiVO₄. These results and the high surface charge separation efficiency support the role of surface‐modified molecular catalysts in improving PEC performance and demonstrate the potential of molecule/semiconductor hybrids for efficient artificial photosynthesis.     

Water oxidation kinetics of nanoporous BiVO4 photoanodes functionalised with nickel/iron oxyhydroxide electrocatalysts

In this work, spectroelectrochemical techniques are employed to analyse the catalytic water oxidation performance of a series of three nickel/iron oxyhydroxide electrocatalysts deposited on FTO and BiVO₄, at neutral pH. Similar electrochemical water oxidation performance is observed for each of the FeOOH, Ni(Fe)OOH and FeOOHNiOOH electrocatalysts studied, which is found to result from a balance between degree of charge accumulation and rate of water oxidation. Once added onto BiVO₄ photoanodes, a large enhancement in the water oxidation photoelectrochemical performance is observed in comparison to the un-modified BiVO₄. To understand the origin of this enhancement, the films were evaluated through time-resolved optical spectroscopic techniques, allowing comparisons between electrochemical and photoelectrochemical water oxidation. For all three catalysts, fast hole transfer from BiVO₄ to the catalyst is observed in the transient absorption data. Using operando photoinduced absorption measurements, we find that water oxidation is driven by oxidised states within the catalyst layer, following hole transfer from BiVO₄. This charge transfer is correlated with a suppression of recombination losses which result in remarkably enhanced water oxidation performance relative to un-modified BiVO₄. Moreover, despite similar electrocatalytic behaviour of all three electrocatalysts, we show that variations in water oxidation performance observed among the BiVO₄/MOOH photoanodes stem from differences in photoelectrochemical and electrochemical charge accumulation in the catalyst layers. Under illumination, the amount of accumulated charge in the catalyst is driven by the injection of photogenerated holes from BiVO₄, which is further affected by the recombination loss at the BiVO₄/MOOH interface, and thus leads to deviations from their behaviour as standalone electrocatalysts.

Elucidating the role of charge accumulation and reaction kinetics in governing the performance of Ni/Fe oxyhydroxides as electrocatalysts and as co-catalysts on BiVO₄ photoanodes water oxidation.     

Towards Long-Term Photostability of Nickel Hydroxide/BiVO4 Photoanodes for Oxygen Evolution Catalysts via In Situ Catalyst Tuning

Increasing long-term photostability of BiVO₄ photoelectrode is an important issue for solar water splitting. The NiOOH oxygen evolution catalyst (OEC) has fast water oxidation kinetics compared to the FeOOH OEC. However, it generally shows a lower photoresponse and poor stability because of the more substantial interface recombination at the NiOOH/BiVO₄ junction. Herein, we utilize a plasma etching approach to reduce both interface/surface recombination at NiOOH/BiVO₄ and NiOOH/electrolyte junctions. Further, adding Fe²⁺ into the borate buffer electrolyte alleviates the active but unstable character of etched-NiOOH/BiVO₄, leading to an outstanding oxygen evolution over 200 h. The improved charge transfer and photostability can be attributed to the active defects and a mixture of NiOOH/NiO/Ni in OEC induced by plasma etching. Metallic Ni acts as the ion source for the in situ generation of the NiFe OEC over long-term durability.     

Stable Cocatalyst-Free BiVO4 Photoanodes with Passivated Surface States for Photocorrosion Inhibition

Improving charge transport and reducing bulk/surface recombination can increase the activity and stability of BiVO₄ for water oxidation. Herein we demonstrate that the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of BiVO₄ can be significantly improved by potentiostatic photopolarization. The resulting cocatalyst-free BiVO₄ photoanode exhibited a record-high photocurrent of 4.60 mA cm⁻² at 1.23 V_RHE with an outstanding onset potential of 0.23 V_RHE in borate buffer without a sacrificial agent under AM 1.5G illumination. The most striking characteristic was a strong “self-healing” property of the photoanode, with photostability observed over 100 h under intermittent testing. The synergistic effects of the generated oxygen vacancies and the passivated surface states at the semiconductor–electrolyte interface as a result of potentiostatic photopolarization reduced the substantial carrier recombination and enhanced the water oxidation kinetics, further inhibiting photocorrosion.     

Importance of catalyst–photoabsorber interface design configuration on the performance of Mo-doped BiVO4 water splitting photoanodes

Photoelectrochemical water splitting is mostly impeded by the slow kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction. The construction of photoanodes that appreciably enhance the efficiency of this process is of vital technological importance towards solar fuel synthesis. In this work, Mo-modified BiVO₄ (Mo:BiVO₄), a promising water splitting photoanode, was modified with various oxygen evolution catalysts in two distinct configurations, with the catalysts either deposited on the surface of Mo:BiVO₄ or embedded inside a Mo:BiVO₄ film. The investigated catalysts included monometallic, bimetallic, and trimetallic oxides with spinel and layered structures, and nickel boride (Ni_xB). In order to follow the influence of the incorporated catalysts and their respective properties, as well as the photoanode architecture on photoelectrochemical water oxidation, the fabricated photoanodes were characterised for their optical, morphological, and structural properties, photoelectrocatalytic activity with respect to evolved oxygen, and recombination rates of the photogenerated charge carriers. The architecture of the catalyst-modified Mo:BiVO₄ photoanode was found to play a more decisive role than the nature of the catalyst on the performance of the photoanode in photoelectrocatalytic water oxidation. Differences in the photoelectrocatalytic activity of the various catalyst-modified Mo:BiVO₄ photoanodes are attributed to the electronic structure of the materials revealed through differences in the Fermi energy levels. This work thus expands on the current knowledge towards the design of future practical photoanodes for photoelectrocatalytic water oxidation.

     

Introducing Bidirectional Axial Coordination into BiVO4@Metal Phthalocyanine Core–Shell Photoanodes for Efficient Water Oxidation

Core-shell photoanodes have shown great potential for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation. However, the construction of a high-quality interface between the core and shell, as well as a highly catalytic surface, remains a challenge. Herein, guided by computation, we present a BiVO₄ photoanode coated with ZnCoFe polyphthalocyanine using pyrazine as a coordination agent. The bidirectional axial coordination of pyrazine plays a dual role by facilitating intimate interfacial contact between BiVO₄ and ZnCoFe polyphthalocyanine, as well as regulating the electron density and spin configuration of metal sites in ZnCoFe phthalocyanine, thereby promoting the potential-limiting step of *OOH desorption. The resulting photoanode displayed a high photocurrent density of 5.7±0.1 mA cm⁻² at 1.23 V_RHE. This study introduces a new approach for constructing core–shell photoanodes, and uncovers the key role of pyrazine axial coordination in modulating the catalytic activity of metal phthalocyanine.     

Boosting charge separation of BiVO4 photoanode modified with 2D metal-organic frameworks nanosheets for high-performance photoelectrochemical water splitting

Water splitting by photoelectrochemical (PEC) processes to convert solar energy into hydrogen energy using semiconductors is regarded as one of the most ideal methods to solve the current energy crisis and has attracted widespread attention. Herein, Co-based metal-organic framework (Co(bpdc)(H₂O)₄ (Co-MOF) nanosheets as passivation layers were in-situ constructed on the surface of BiVO₄ films through an uncomplicated hydrothermal method (Co-MOF/BiVO₄). Under AM 1.5G illumination, synthesized Co-MOF/BiVO₄ electrode exhibited a 4-fold higher photocurrent than bare BiVO₄, measuring 6.0 mA/cm² at 1.23 V vs. RHE in 1 mol/L potassium borate electrolyte (pH 9.5) solution. Moreover, the Co-MOF/BiVO₄ film demonstrated a 96% charge separation efficiency, a result caused by an inhibited recombination rate of photogenerated electrons and holes by the addition of Co-MOF nanosheets. This work provides an idea for depositing inexpensive 2D Co-MOF nanosheets on the photoanode as an excellent passivation layer for solar fuel production.     

Curing BiVO4 Photoanodes with Ultraviolet Light Enhances Photoelectrocatalysis

Exposure of BiVO₄ photoanodes to ultraviolet (UV) radiation for extended time periods (e.g., 20 h) produces a morphological change and concomitant improvement in photo‐electrocatalytic (PEC) efficiency for driving water splitting directly by sunlight. The ～230 mV cathodic shift in onset potential and doubling of the photocurrent at 1.23 V vs. RHE after UV curing are comparable to the effects engendered by the presence of a secondary catalyst layer. PEC measurements and absorption spectra indicate that the cathodic shift after UV curing corresponds to a suppression of charge recombination and a greater photovoltage generation caused by the shift of the flat‐band potential, and not an improvement in electrocatalytic activity or light absorption. Spectroscopic surface analysis suggests that surface defect sites, which are eliminated by UV curing, for the differences in observed charge recombination.     

Boosting the Photoactivity of BiVO4 Photoanodes by a ZnCoFe-LDH Thin Layer for Water Oxidation

Monoclinic bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) has been used as an efficient photoanode material for photoelectrochemical water oxidation owing to its suitable band gap and nontoxicity. Nevertheless, the practical application of BiVO₄ photoanode has been severely limited by the surface charge recombination and sluggish kinetic, which leads to the obtained photoactivity of BiVO₄ is much lower than its theoretical value. In this case, ZnCoFe-LDH thin layer is conformally decorated on the porous BiVO₄ photoanode through a simple electrodeposition process. The results show that a boosted photoactivity and a remarkably enhanced photocurrent density (3.43 mA cm⁻² at 1.23 V_RHE) are attained for BiVO₄/ZnCoFe-LDH. In addition, the optimized BiVO₄/ZnCoFe-LDH photoanode exhibits significant negative shift in the onset potential (0.51 V_RHE to 0.21 V_RHE), promotes charge separation efficiency (49.3% to 60.4% in the bulk, 29.6% to 61.9% on the surface at 1.23 V_RHE) and enhanced IPCE efficiency (25.5% to 54.7% at 425 nm) compared with that of bare BiVO₄ photoanode. It is demonstrated that the boosted photoactivity of BiVO₄/ZnCoFe-LDH photoanode is mainly ascribed to the synergy effects of the formation of p-n heterojunction between ZnCoFe-LDH and BiVO₄ to accelerate the photogenerated charge transfer and separation, broaden light absorption, as well as promote the surface water oxidation kinetics.     

钨掺杂BiVO4光阳极降解环丙沙星的表面态行为

采用简单浸渍的方法对BiVO₄光阳极进行表面钨(W)掺杂,以环丙沙星(CIP)为药品和个人护理产品(PPCPs)模型污染物,研究了W掺杂BiVO₄光阳极降解CIP的表面态行为。结果表明,低浓度W掺杂对BiVO₄光阳极的晶体结构、表面形貌和光吸收性能没有显著影响。但W掺杂取代了BiVO₄光阳极表面的V⁵⁺,能抑制BiVO₄光阳极表面V⁵⁺/V⁴⁺还原过程,减少复合中心表面态,同时引入更多氧空穴,增加活性位点表面态。CIP的降解反应受表面活性位点控制。表面W掺杂能有效促进CIP降解的电荷转移,提高BiVO₄光阳极光电催化降解性能。     

Prussian Blue Type Cocatalysts for Enhancing the Photocatalytic Water Oxidation Performance of BiVO4

The efficiency of photocatalytic overall water splitting reactions is usually limited by the high energy barrier and complex multiple electron-transfer processes of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Although bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) as the photocatalyst has been developed for enhancing the kinetics of the water oxidation reaction, it still suffers from challenges of fast recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and poor photocatalytic activity. Herein, six M^II-Co^III Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) (M=Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn) cocatalysts are synthesized and deposited on the surface of BiVO₄ for boosting the surface catalytic efficiency and enhancing photogenerated carries separation efficiency of BiVO₄. Six M^II-Co^III PBAs@BiVO₄ photocatalysts all demonstrate increased photocatalytic water oxidation performance compared to that of BiVO₄ alone. Among them, the Co−Co PBA@BiVO₄ photocatalyst is employed as a representative research object and is thoroughly characterized by electrochemistry, electronic microscope as well as multiple spectroscopic analyses. Notably, BiVO₄ coupling with Co−Co PBA cocatalyst could capture more photons than that of pure BiVO₄, facilitating the transfer of photogenerated charge carriers between BiVO₄ and Co−Co PBA as well as the surface catalytic efficiency of BiVO₄. Overall, this work would promote the synthesis strategy development for exploring new types of composite photocatalysts for water oxidation.     

A BiVO4 Photoanode with a VOx Layer Bearing Oxygen Vacancies Offers Improved Charge Transfer and Oxygen Evolution Kinetics in Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Sluggish oxygen evolution kinetics are one of the key limitations of bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) photoanodes for efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. To address this issue, we report a vanadium oxide (VO_x) with enriched oxygen vacancies conformally grown on BiVO₄ photoanodes by a simple photo-assisted electrodeposition process. The optimized BiVO₄/VO_x photoanode exhibits a photocurrent density of 6.29 mA cm⁻² at 1.23 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode under AM 1.5 G illumination, which is ca. 385 % as high as that of its pristine counterpart. A high charge-transfer efficiency of 96 % is achieved and stable PEC water splitting is realized, with a photocurrent retention rate of 88.3 % upon 40 h of testing. The excellent PEC performance is attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies in VO_x that forms undercoordinated sites, which strengthen the adsorption of water molecules onto the active sites and promote charge transfer during the oxygen evolution reaction. This work demonstrates the potential of vanadium-based catalysts for PEC water oxidation.     

二元ZnCo-LDH助催化剂对BiVO4光电化学性能的促进

钒酸铋(BiVO_4)是最有前景的将太阳能转化为氢能(STH)的光阳极材料之一,但其本身严重的电子-空穴复合严重影响了其实用性。本文中,我们报道了用一步电沉积法将高效的二元ZnCo-LDH助催化剂沉积在钒酸铋(BiVO_4)光阳极上,大大提升了钒酸铋(Bi VO4)的光吸收能力,并且加速了水氧化反应动力学,显著促进了光生空穴向半导体表面的转移,减轻了表面电荷复合。BiVO_4/ZnCo-LDH光阳极在1.23 V(vs RHE)偏压下,0.5 mol·L-1磷酸钾(KPi)电解液中的光电流密度达到2.85 mA·cm~(-2),是纯BiVO_4的2.59倍,且起始电位(Von)从930 m V下降到270 m V。BiVO_4/ZnCo-LDH复合光阳极表现出65%的高表面电荷分离效率(1.23 V(vs RHE)),而纯BiVO_4的仅为30%。     

Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting through Bismuth Vanadate with a Photon Upconversion Luminescent Reflector

As the performance of photoanodes for solar water splitting steadily improves, the extension of the absorption wavelength in the photoanodes is highly necessary to substantially improve the water splitting. We use a luminescent back reflector (LBR) capable of photon upconversion (UC) to improve the light harvesting capabilities of Mo:BiVO₄ photoelectrodes. The LBR is prepared by dispersing the organic dye pair meso‐tetraphenyltetrabenzoporphine palladium and perylene capable of triplet–triplet annhilation‐based UC in a polymer film. The LBR converts the wavelengths of 600–650 nm corresponding to the sub‐band gap of Mo:BiVO₄ and the wavelengths of 350–450 nm that are not sufficiently absorbed in Mo:BiVO₄ to a wavelength that can be absorbed by a Mo:BiVO₄ photoelectrode. The LBR improves the water splitting reaction of Mo:BiVO₄ photoelectrodes by 17 %, and consequently, the Mo:BiVO₄/LBR exhibits a photocurrent density of 5.25 mA cm^?2 at 1.23 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. The Mo:BiVO₄/LBR exhibits hydrogen/oxygen evolution corresponding to the increased photocurrent density and long‐term operational stability for the water splitting reaction.     

Freeing the Polarons to Facilitate Charge Transport in BiVO4 from Oxygen Vacancies with an Oxidative 2D Precursor

The BiVO₄ photoelectrochemical (PEC) electrode in tandem with a photovoltaic (PV) cell has shown great potential to become a compact and cost‐efficient device for solar hydrogen generation. However, the PEC part is still facing problems such as the poor charge transport efficiency owing to the drag of oxygen vacancy bound polarons. In the present work, to effectively suppress oxygen vacancy formation, a new route has been developed to synthesize BiVO₄ photoanodes by using a highly oxidative two‐dimensional (2D) precursor, bismuth oxyiodate (BiOIO₃), as an internal oxidant. With the reduced defects, namely the oxygen vacancies, the bound polarons were released, enabling a fast charge transport inside BiVO₄ and doubling the performance in tandem devices based on the oxygen vacancy eliminated BiVO₄. This work is a new avenue for elaborately designing the precursor and breaking the limitation of charge transport for highly efficient PEC‐PV solar fuel devices.     

钨掺杂BiVO4光阳极降解环丙沙星的表面态行为

采用简单浸渍的方法对BiVO₄光阳极进行表面钨(W)掺杂,以环丙沙星(CIP)为药品和个人护理产品(PPCPs)模型污染物,研究了W掺杂BiVO₄光阳极降解CIP的表面态行为。结果表明,低浓度W掺杂对BiVO₄光阳极的晶体结构、表面形貌和光吸收性能没有显著影响。但W掺杂取代了BiVO₄光阳极表面的V⁵⁺,能抑制BiVO₄光阳极表面V⁵⁺/V⁴⁺还原过程,减少复合中心表面态,同时引入更多氧空穴,增加活性位点表面态。CIP的降解反应受表面活性位点控制。表面W掺杂能有效促进CIP降解的电荷转移,提高BiVO₄光阳极光电催化降解性能。     

Dimension‐Matched Zinc Phthalocyanine/BiVO4 Ultrathin Nanocomposites for CO2 Reduction as Efficient Wide‐Visible‐Light‐Driven Photocatalysts via a Cascade Charge Transfer

Cascade charge transfer was realized by a H‐bond linked zinc phthalocyanine/BiVO₄ nanosheet (ZnPc/BVNS) composite, which subsequently works as an efficient wide‐visible‐light‐driven photocatalyst for converting CO₂ into CO and CH₄, as shown by product analysis and ¹³C isotopic measurement. The optimized ZnPc/BVNS nanocomposite exhibits a ca. 16‐fold enhancement in the quantum efficiency compared with the reported BiVO₄ nanoparticles at the excitation of 520 nm with an assistance of 660 nm photons. Experimental and theoretical results show the exceptional activities are attributed to the rapid charge separation by a cascade Z‐scheme charge transfer mechanism formed by the dimension‐matched ultrathin (ca. 8 nm) heterojunction nanostructure. The central Zn²⁺ in ZnPc could accept the excited electrons from the ligand and then provide a catalytic function for CO₂ reduction. This Z‐scheme is also feasible for other MPc, such as FePc and CoPc, together with BVNS.