Boosting Photoelectrochemical Catalytic Ability of Bismuth Vanadate toward Water Oxidation via Synergistic Surface Defect Engineering and MXene-Assisted Charge Transport

Journal article

Authors/Editors

CHUTIMA KONGVARHODOM

Strategic Research Themes

Innovative Materials, Manufacturing and Construction (Strategic Research Themes)

Publication Details

Author list: Cheng, T.-M.; Wang, Y.-R.; Chiu, Y.-H.; Kongvarhodom, C.; Saukani, M.; Yougbaré, S.; Chen, H.-M.; Lin, L.-Y.

Publisher: American Chemical Society

Publication year: 2025

Volume number: 10

Issue number: 35

Start page: 40557

End page: 40566

Number of pages: 10

eISSN: 2470-1343

URL: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-105016755499&doi=10.1021%2Facsomega.5c06250&partnerID=40&md5=4f1e3a6282ab08f4e7372607be3ec3db

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

View on publisher site

Abstract

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) is regarded as a promising photoanode material for solar-driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation, due to its visible-light absorption and favorable band edge positions. However, the practical application is hindered by limited charge carrier mobility and significant surface recombination. In this study, a dual-modification strategy is applied by combining alkaline etching and MXene integration to enhance surface reactivity and charge transport properties of BiVO4. Alkaline etching introduces structural defects and active sites on BiVO4surface, which promote hole accumulation and facilitate interfacial redox reactions. Meanwhile, incorporating MXene forms a conductive interface that accelerates hole extraction and suppresses recombination. Although alkaline etching slightly reduces light absorption due to morphological restructuring, the subsequent MXene addition recovers and enhances photon harvesting. In the absence of hole scavengers, the pristine BiVO4electrode achieves a photocurrent density of 4.65 mA/cm2at 1.23 V vs RHE at AM 1.5G, which increases to 5.13 mA/cm2for alkaline-etched BiVO4and further to 6.15 mA/cm2for alkaline-etched BiVO4coupled with MXene (MXene/E-BVO). Moreover, the MXene/E-BVO electrode retains 93.4% of its initial photocurrent after continuous illumination for 10,000 s. These results confirm the effectiveness of combining surface and interfacial engineering to improve PEC water splitting performance of BiVO4. © 2025 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society

Keywords

No matching items found.