Aerosol-assisted CVD of bismuth vanadate thin films and their photoelectrochemical properties

Thin film bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photoelectrodes are prepared by aerosol-assisted (AA)CVD for the first time on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates. The BiVO4 photoelectrodes are characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy (RS), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and are found to consist of phase-pure monoclinic BiVO4. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis shows that the thin film is uniform with a porous structure, and consists of particles approximately 75-125nm in diameter. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of the BiVO4 photoelectrodes are studied in aqueous 1M Na2SO4 and show photocurrent densities of 0.4mAcm-2, and a maximum incident-photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 19% at 1.23V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). BiVO4 photoelectrodes prepared by this method are thus highly promising for use in PEC water-splitting cells. Thin film bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photoelectrodes are prepared by AACVD for the first time on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of the BiVO4 photoelectrodes are studied in aqueous 1M Na2SO4 and show photocurrent densities of 0.4mAcm-2 and a maximum incident-photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 19% at 1.23V vs. RHE. BiVO4 photoelectrodes prepared by this method are highly promising for use in PEC water-splitting cells

Absorption and action spectra analysis of ammonium fluoride-doped titania photocatalysts

The photocatalytic behaviour of a series of ammonium fluoride (NH4F)-doped titania (TiO2) photocatalysts was investigated in the decomposition of acetic acid in aqueous suspensions and in the gas phase mineralization of acetaldehyde. Very similar photocatalytic activity trends, usually increasing with increasing the calcination temperature for a given nominal dopant amount, were obtained for the two test reactions. Moderately doped TiO2 calcined at 700 °C, consisting of pure anatase, was the best performing photocatalyst in both reactions. The photocatalytic oxidation of acetic acid was investigated systematically as a function of irradiation wavelength, by collecting so-called action spectra. By comparing the shapes of the action spectra with those of the absorption spectra of the investigated photocatalysts a model is proposed, based on spectral features deconvolution, which allows a clear distinction between inactive light absorption and effective photoactivity in acetic acid decomposition

Specific Facets-Dominated Anatase TiO2: Fluorine-Mediated Synthesis and Photoactivity

catalyst

Humic Acid-Sensitized Photoreduction of Cr(VI) on ZnO Particles.

Abstract not availableJRC.(EI)-Environment Institut