Plasmonic Silver Nanoparticle-Impregnated Nanocomposite BiVO₄ Photoanode for Plasmon-Enhanced Photocatalytic Water Splitting

Herein, we developed a fully solution-deposited nanocomposite photoanode based on silver nanoparticle (NP)-impregnated bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) films. The synthesized Ag NPs exhibit diameters of few nanometers and uniform matrix dispersion, which were confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The photoanode composed of the Ag NP-incorporated nanocomposite BiVO₄ showed a remarkable enhancement in both low potential and the saturated photocatalytic current densities in comparison with the pristine BiVO₄ film. The observed experimental results are attributed to the improved carrier generation and enhanced charge separation by the localized surface plasmon resonance-mediated effect as suggested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and a numerical simulation