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Analysis and characterization of BiVO4/FeOOH and BiVO4/α-Fe2O3 nanostructures photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting

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Abstract

In this work, BiVO4/FeOOH and BiVO4/Fe2O3 electrodes were prepared by electrodeposition process and studied as a photoanode for water splitting application. Firstly, Iron (III) oxide–hydroxide (FeOOH) was deposited on BiVO4 thin films, varying the deposit charge. Secondly, FeOOH was converted to Fe2O3 by an annealing treatment at 500 °C in air. Structural, optical, morphological, and electrochemical characterization was performed by XRD, UV–Vis spectroscopy, FE-SEM, and electrochemical impedance. In both cases, the monoclinic phase of BiVO4 was correctly coupled to each material. In all cases, a decrease in band gap was observed compared to pristine BiVO4 which is indicative of an enhancement in photonic absorption, FE-SEM results revealed the coalescence of the BiVO4 particles with particles in the form of nanosheets when FeOOH and Fe2O3 were coupled. This increase in the rough surface is beneficial for the increase in reactive sites since it increases the semiconductor/electrolyte contact area in addition to increasing the photon-material interaction through multiple reflections provided by these 2D structures, thus improving charge transport. In the case of BiVO4/FeOOH, it is observed that as the deposit charge density (amount of electrical charge distributed per unit area) increases, there is an improvement in the photocurrent and less recombination effects due to the fact that no peaks are seen in the cathodic direction, which is characteristic of carrier recombination. The highest current density is observed in the BiVO4–FeOOH-250 mC sample with a value close to 0.20 mA/cm2. While BiVO4/Fe2O3 films present higher photocurrents as the deposited charge increases reaching a value close to 0.35 mA/cm2, which is related to the increase in thickness and the decrease in the band gap, promoting greater light absorption. In addition, a correct band alignment for the oxygen evolution reaction was observed for both types of electrodes.

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Acknowledgements

Authors thank to Ing. Rogelio Morán Elvira, and M.S. María Luisa Ramón García for SEM and XRD analysis.

Funding

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lab. Materiales y Procesos Sustentables, Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Energías Renovables, Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, 29039, Chiapas, México

    R. M. Sánchez-Albores, E. Ríos-Valdovinos & F. Pola-Albores

  2. Escuela de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas, Ocozocozutla de Espinosa, 29140, Chiapas, México

    R. M. Sánchez-Albores

  3. Instituto de Energías Renovables, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Temixco, 62580, Morelos, México

    O. Reyes-Vallejo & A. Fernández-Madrigal

  4. Sección de Electrónica de Estado Sólido- Ingeniería Eléctrica (SEES), CINVESTAV- IPN, San Pedro Zacatenco, Ciudad de México, Mexico, 07360, México

    O. Reyes-Vallejo

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Contributions

RMSA: Writing—original draft, Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Data curation, Conceptualization, and corrections. ORV: Writing—review & editing, Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Data curation, Characterization, and corrections. ERV: Writing—review & editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Methodology, Formal analysis. AFM: Writing—review & editing, Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Methodology, Formal analysis, Reagents, and materials. FPA: Writing—review & editing, Reagents and materials.

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Correspondence to E. Ríos-Valdovinos or A. Fernández-Madrigal.

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Sánchez-Albores, R.M., Reyes-Vallejo, O., Ríos-Valdovinos, E. et al. Analysis and characterization of BiVO4/FeOOH and BiVO4/α-Fe2O3 nanostructures photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water splitting. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 1001 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-10382-1

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