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Role of g-C3N4 in Fabrication of BiVO4/WO3 Z-scheme Heterojunction for high Photoelectrochemical Performances with Enhanced Light Harvesting

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Abstract

Green technology such as harvesting solar light is a promising source for future energy supplies without generating any harmful environmental pollutions. We report a straightforward approach for improving the light harvesting properties of BiVO4 photoanodes in order to enhance their photoelectrochemical performance. A facile sol–gel spin coating method was used to prepare the samples. The g-C3N4 powder was incorporated into the BiVO4 precursor solution before being spin-coated onto fluorine-doped tin oxide glass. After annealing, a thin film of g-C3N4 modified BiVO4 (CN-BiVO4) was formed. A WO3 film was coated onto CN-BiVO4 (CN-BiVO4/WO3) to form a Z-scheme heterojunction and enhance the photoelectrochemical performance. The CN-BiVO4 and CN-BiVO4/WO3 photoanodes outperformed unmodified photoanodes in terms of light harvesting and photoelectrochemical performance. The CN-BiVO4/WO3 had the highest light absorbance and photocurrent density (538 µA·cm− 2 at 1.23 VRHE) and significantly enhanced resilience and stability (with a 35% decay for 1600 s) compared with unmodified electrodes. At 390 nm, the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency was 14.8%, and the applied bias photon-to-current conversion efficiency was approximately 0.12% at 0.88 VRHE. These findings reveal that the non-crystalline phases of CN-BiVO4 grains help absorb and trap a broader range of wavelengths, thus improving photoelectrochemical performance.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2021R1F1A1059276). This work was also partially supported by Korea Environment Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) through Post Plastic, a specialized program of the Graduate School funded by Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE).

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Seoul, 163 Seoulsiripdaero, Dongdaemun-gu, 02504, Seoul, Korea

    Pankyu Sang & Jung Hyeun Kim

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Sang, P., Kim, J.H. Role of g-C3N4 in Fabrication of BiVO4/WO3 Z-scheme Heterojunction for high Photoelectrochemical Performances with Enhanced Light Harvesting. Int. J. of Precis. Eng. and Manuf.-Green Tech. 10, 1015–1026 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40684-022-00478-0

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