Spontaneous polarization enhanced bismuth ferrate photoelectrode: fabrication and boosted photoelectrochemical water splitting property

Abstract

In this paper, the fabrication of a highly orientated Bi₂Fe₄O₉ (BFO) photoelectrode in the presence of two-dimensional (2D) graphene oxide (GO) was reported. It was found that the GO can be used as a template for controlling the growth of BFO, and the nanoplate composites of BFO/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) with a high orientation can be fabricated. The thickness of the nanoplates became thinner as the ratio of GO increased. As a result, the ferroelectric spontaneous polarization unit arranges itself in the space in a periodic manner, leading to the formation of a polarization field along a special direction. Therefore, the created built-in electric field of the nanoplate composites of BFO/RGO is improved upon the increase of the amount of RGO. As expected, carrier separation is enhanced by the built-in electric field, therefore substantially enhancing the photoelectrochemical (PEC) activity of water splitting compared to pure BFO under the irradiation of visible-light.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

bismuth ferrate / ferroelectric polarisation / photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting / graphene oxide (GO) / high orientation

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