| Abstract: | Bismuth vanadate is a promising photoanode material for photoelectrochemical(PEC)water splitting,but its activity and stability need to be further improved.In this work,we synthesized Ni-doped BiVO _(4 )abundant with V ~(4+)species and oxygen defects through an in situ electrodeposition method.The effective doping can decrease the particle size of BiVO _(4 )and lead to the formation of V ~(4+)species/oxygen defects.Accordingly,the doped and defective BiVO _(4 )showed high optical absorption and rapid charge transfer,and further showed much higher PEC activity than pure BiVO _4.Specifically,5-Ni-BiVO _(4 )exhibits the highest activity in PEC water splitting,with a photocurrent of 2.39 mA/cm ~(2 )at 1.23 V versus RHE(the reversible hydrogen electrode),which is 2.5 times higher than pure BiVO _4(0.94 m A/cm ~2),and much higher incident photon-to-current efficiency(IPCE)value of 45%(while only 25%for BiVO _(4 )at ca.400 nm).This work provides an in situ method for the development of a high-performance photoanode. |
