Construction of BiVO₄/BiOCl@C Z-scheme heterojunction for enhanced photoelectrochemical performance

Abstract

A Z-scheme heterostructure of Mo, W co-doped BiVO₄ (Mo,W:BVO/BiOCl@C) was fabricated by a simple solid solution drying and calcination (SSDC) method. The heterostructure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), etc. Under visible light irradiation, Mo,W:BVO/BiOCl@C heterostructure exhibits excellent photoelectrochemical capability compared with other as-prepared samples. The photocurrent density and the incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) are about 5.4 and 9.0 times higher than those of pure BiVO₄, respectively. The enhancement of the photoelectrochemical performance can be attributed to the construct of Z-scheme system, which is deduced from the radical trapping experiments. The Mo,W:BVO/BiOCl@C Z-scheme heterojunction enhances the visible-light absorption and reduces the recombination rate of charge carriers. This work provides an effective strategy to construct Z-scheme photoelectrodes for the application of photoelectrochemical water splitting.

Keywords

photoelectrochemical / bismuth vanadate / BiOCl / Z-scheme / carbon

References

[1] J.W. Fu, J.G. Yu, C.J. Jiang, and B. Cheng, G−C₃N₄-based heterostructured photocatalysts, Adv. Energy Mater., 8(2018), No. 3, art. No. 1701503.

[2] Fu JW, Zhu BC, You W, Jaroniec M, Yu JG. A flexible bio-inspired H₂-production photocatalyst. Appl. Catal. B, 2018, 220, 148.

[3] L.R. Bao, S.H. Zhu, Y. Chen, et al., Anionic defects engineering of Co₃O₄ catalyst for toluene oxidation, Fuel, 314(2022), art. No. 122774.

[4] Wang Y, Suzuki H, Xie JJ, et al. Mimicking natural photosynthesis: Solar to renewable H₂ fuel synthesis by Z-scheme water splitting systems. Chem. Rev., 2018, 118(10): 5201.

[5] Fujishima A, Honda K. Electrochemical photolysis of water at a semiconductor electrode. Nature, 1972, 238(5358): 37.

[6] Zeng XF, Wang JS, Zhao YN, Zhang WL, Wang MH. Construction of TiO₂-pillared multilayer graphene nanocomposites as efficient photocatalysts for ciprofloxacin degradation. Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 2021, 28(3): 503.

[7] Wang HH, Liu WX, Ma J, et al. Design of (GO/TiO₂)_N one-dimensional photonic crystal photocatalysts with improved photocatalytic activity for tetracycline degradation. Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 2020, 27(6): 830.

[8] Rahmah MI, Sabry RS, Aziz WJ. Preparation and photocatalytic property of Fe₂O₃/ZnO composites with superhydrophobicity. Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 2021, 28(6): 1072.

[9] Liu YZ, Zhang HY, Ke J, et al. 0D (MoS₂)/2D (g-C₃N₄) heterojunctions in Z-scheme for enhanced photocatalytic and electrochemical hydrogen evolution. Appl. Catal. B, 2018, 228, 64.

[10] Kment S, Riboni F, Pausova S, et al. Photoanodes based on TiO₂ and α-Fe₂O₃ for solar water splitting — Superior role of 1D nanoarchitectures and of combined heterostructures. Chem. Soc. Rev., 2017, 46(12): 3716.

[11] Liao AZ, Zhou Y, Xiao LX, et al. Direct Z scheme-fashioned photoanode systems consisting of Fe₂O₃ nanorod arrays and underlying thin Sb₂Se₃ layers toward enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting performance. Nanoscale, 2019, 11(1): 109.

[12] Feng CC, Jiao ZB, Li SP, Zhang Y, Bi YP. Facile fabrication of BiVO₄ nanofilms with controlled pore size and their photoelectrochemical performances. Nanoscale, 2015, 7(48): 20374.

[13] Tan HL, Amal R, Ng YH. Alternative strategies in improving the photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical activities of visible light-driven BiVO₄: A review. J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, 5(32): 16498.

[14] Zhou FQ, Fan JC, Xu QJ, Min YL. BiVO₄ nanowires decorated with CdS nanoparticles as Z-scheme photocatalyst with enhanced H₂ generation. Appl. Catal. B, 2017, 201, 77.

[15] Jia QX, Iwase A, Kudo A. BiVO₄−Ru/SrTiO₃: Rh composite Z-scheme photocatalyst for solar water splitting. Chem. Sci., 2014, 5(4): 1513.

[16] J.L. Li, Q.M. Wang, Y.J. Zhang, Y.Q. Liu, X.H. Liu, and Z.B. Jiao, Homogeneously mixed heterostructures of BiVO₄/MoS₂/RGO with improved photoelectrochemical performances, Solid State Sci., 104(2020), art. No. 106200.

[17] Zhao W, Feng Y, Huang HB, et al. A novel Z-scheme Ag₃VO₄/BiVO₄ heterojunction photocatalyst: Study on the excellent photocatalytic performance and photocatalytic mechanism. Appl. Catal. B, 2019, 245, 448.

[18] Yoshino S, Sato K, Yamaguchi Y, Iwase A, Kudo A. Z-schematic CO₂ reduction to CO through interparticle electron transfer between SrTiO₃:Rh of a reducing photocatalyst and BiVO₄ of a water oxidation photocatalyst under visible light. ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 2020, 3(10): 10001.

[19] L.L. Gao, X.F. Long, S.Q. Wei, et al., Facile growth of AgVO₃ nanoparticles on Mo-doped BiVO₄ film for enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation, Chem. Eng. J., 378(2019), art. No. 122193.

[20] Li HY, Sun YJ, Cai B, et al. Hierarchically Z-scheme photocatalyst of Ag@AgCl decorated on BiVO₄ (040) with enhancing photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performance. Appl. Catal. B, 2015, 170–171, 206.

[21] Shan LW, Wang GL, Suriyaprakash J, Li D, Liu LZ, Dong LM. Solar light driven pure water splitting of B-doped BiVO₄ synthesized via a sol-gel method. J. Alloys Compd., 2015, 636, 131.

[22] X.M. Jia, Q.F. Han, H.Z. Liu, S.Z. Li, and H.P. Bi, A dual strategy to construct flowerlike S-scheme BiOBr/BiOAc_1−xBr_x heterojunction with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity, Chem. Eng. J., 399(2020), art. No. 125701.

[23] Y.Y. Zhou, H.P. Wang, X.C. Liu, et al., An efficient strategy for selective oxidation of ammonia nitrogen into N₂ over BiOCl photocatalyst, Appl. Catal. B, 294(2021), art. No. 120265.

[24] Sun M, Yan Q, Shao Y, et al. Facile fabrication of BiOI decorated NaNbO₃ cubes: A p−n junction photocatalyst with improved visible-light activity. Appl. Surf. Sci., 2017, 416, 288.

[25] Cheng JS, Frezet L, Bonnet P, Wang C. Preparation and photocatalytic properties of a hierarchical BiOCl/BiOF composite photocatalyst. Catal. Lett., 2018, 148(5): 1281.

[26] Wang QZ, Hui J, Huang YJ, et al. The preparation of BiOCl photocatalyst and its performance of photodegradation on dyes. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process., 2014, 17, 87.

[27] W.T. Lin, X. Yu, Y.H. Shen, et al., Carbon dots/BiOCl films with enhanced visible light photocatalytic performance, J. Nanopart. Res., 19(2017), No. 2, art. No. 56.

[28] Li N, Qin BH, Kang HF, Cai NN, Huang SP, Xiao Q. Engineering hollow carbon spheres: Directly from solid resin spheres to porous hollow carbon spheres via air induced linker cleaving. Nanoscale, 2021, 13(32): 13873.

[29] Chen AB, Li YQ, Yu YF, et al. Nitrogen-doped hollow carbon spheres for supercapacitors application. J. Alloys Compd., 2016, 688, 878.

[30] Celzard A, Pasc A, Schaefer S, et al. Floating hollow carbon spheres for improved solar evaporation. Carbon, 2019, 146, 232.

[31] Li SJ, Pasc A, Fierro V, Celzard A. Hollow carbon spheres, synthesis and applications — A review. J. Mater. Chem. A, 2016, 4(33): 12686.

[32] Li XF, Chi MF, Mahurin SM, et al. Graphitized hollow carbon spheres and yolk-structured carbon spheres fabricated by metal-catalyst-free chemical vapor deposition. Carbon, 2016, 101, 57.

[33] P.M. Gangatharan, M.S. Maubane-Nkadimeng, and N.J. Coville, Building carbon structures inside hollow carbon spheres, Sci. Rep., 9(2019), art. No. 10642.

[34] Chen AB, Wang YY, Yu YF, et al. Nitrogen-doped hollow carbon spheres for supercapacitors. J. Mater. Sci., 2017, 52(6): 3153.

[35] Mutuma BK, Rodrigues R, Ranganathan K, et al. Hollow carbon spheres and a hollow carbon sphere/polyvinylpyrrolidone composite as ammonia sensors. J. Mater. Chem. A, 2017, 5(6): 2539.

[36] Shao HM, Shen XY, Li XT, et al. Growth mechanism and photocatalytic evaluation of flower-like ZnO micro-structures prepared with SDBS assistance. Int. J. Miner. Metall. Mater., 2021, 28(4): 729.

[37] Jiao ZB, Guan XG, Wang M, et al. Undamaged depositing large-area ZnO quantum dots/RGO films on photoelectrodes for the construction of pure Z-scheme. Chem. Eng. J., 2019, 356, 781.

[38] Li JL, Jin BJ, Jiao ZB. Rationally embedded zinc oxide nanospheres serving as electron transport channels in bismuth vanadate/zinc oxide heterostructures for improved photoelectrochemical efficiency. J. Colloid Interface Sci., 2021, 592, 127.

[39] L.W. Shan, J.C. Li, Z. Wu, et al., Unveiling the intrinsic band alignment and robust water oxidation features of hierarchical BiVO₄ phase junction, Chem. Eng. J., 436(2022), art. No. 131516.

[40] J.L. Li, J.X. Li, H. Yuan, W.J. Zhang, Z.B. Jiao, and S.Z. Xiu, Modification of BiVO₄ with partially covered α-Fe₂O₃ spindles serving as hole-transport channels for significantly improved photoelectrochemical performance, Chem. Eng. J., 398(2020), art. No. 125662.

[41] Wu XQ, Zhao J, Wang LP, et al. Carbon dots as solid-state electron mediator for BiVO₄/CDs/CdS Z-scheme photocatalyst working under visible light. Appl. Catal. B, 2017, 206, 501.

[42] Wang QM, Zhang YJ, Li JL, Liu N, Jiao YF, Jiao ZB. Construction of electron transport channels in type-I heterostructures of Bi₂MoO₆/BiVO₄/g-C₃N₄ for improved charge carriers separation efficiency. J. Colloid Interface Sci., 2020, 567, 145.

[43] Song Z, Dong XL, Wang N, et al. Efficient photocatalytic defluorination of perfluorooctanoic acid over BiOCl nanosheets via a hole direct oxidation mechanism. Chem. Eng. J., 2017, 317, 925.

[44] Guo JJ, Zhao W, Xiong DZ, Ye Y, Li SB, Zhang B. A hydrolysis synthesis route for (001)/(102) coexposed BiOCl nanosheets with high visible light-driven catalytic performance. New J. Chem., 2021, 45(42): 19996.

[45] Asadzadeh-Khaneghah S, Habibi-Yangjeh A, Yubuta K. Novel g-C₃N₄ nanosheets/CDs/BiOCl photocatalysts with exceptional activity under visible light. J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 2019, 102(3): 1435.

[46] Gao YH, Yang W, Shan XY, Chen Y. Synthesis of “walnut-like” BiOCl/Br solid solution photocatalyst by electrostatic self-assembly method. Int. J. Energy Res., 2020, 44(3): 2226.

[47] Du J, Chen AB, Gao XQ, Zhang Y, Lv HJ. Reasonable construction of hollow carbon spheres with an adjustable shell surface for supercapacitors. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2022, 14(9): 11750.

[48] Wang Y, Tan GQ, Liu T, et al. Photocatalytic properties of the g-C₃N₄/{010} facets BiVO₄ interface Z-Scheme photocatalysts induced by BiVO₄ surface heterojunction. Appl. Catal. B, 2018, 234, 37.

[49] Liang SH, Zhang TT, Zhang DF, et al. One-pot combustion synthesis and efficient broad spectrum photoactivity of Bi/BiOBr:Yb,Er/C photocatalyst. J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 2018, 101(8): 3424.

[50] P.F. Zhang, H.O. Liang, H. Liu, J. Bai, and C.P. Li, A novel Z-scheme BiOI/BiOCl nanofibers photocatalyst prepared by one-pot solvothermal with efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity, Mater. Chem. Phys., 272(2021), art. No. 125031.

[51] Xu YT, Fu HP, Zhao L, Jian LS, Liang QS, Xiao XF. Insight into facet-dependent photocatalytic H₂O₂ production on BiOCl nanosheets. New J. Chem., 2021, 45(6): 3335.

[52] Tang XD, Ma CS, Liu N, Liu CL, Liu SL. Visible light β-Bi₂O₃/BiOCl heterojunction photocatalyst with highly enhanced photocatalytic activity. Chem. Phys. Lett., 2018, 709, 82.

[53] Shang J, Chen TZ, Wang XW, Sun LY, Su QQ. Facile fabrication and enhanced photocatalytic performance: From BiOCl to element-doped BiOCl. Chem. Phys. Lett., 2018, 706, 483.

[54] Lu Z, Zeng L, Song WL, Qin ZY, Zeng DW, Xie CS. In situ synthesis of C−TiO₂/g-C₃N₄ heterojunction nanocomposite as highly visible light active photocatalyst originated from effective interfacial charge transfer. Appl. Catal. B, 2017, 202, 489.

[55] Rao PM, Cai LL, Liu C, et al. Simultaneously efficient light absorption and charge separation in WO₃/BiVO₄ core/shell nanowire photoanode for photoelectrochemical water oxidation. Nano Lett., 2014, 14(2): 1099.

[56] Gao XH, Wu HB, Zheng LX, Zhong YJ, Hu Y, Lou XW. Formation of mesoporous heterostructured BiVO₄/Bi₂S₃ Hollow discoids with enhanced photoactivity. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2014, 53(23): 5917.

[57] B.J. Jin, Y. Cho, Y. Zhang, et al., A “surface patching” strategy to achieve highly efficient solar water oxidation beyond surface passivation effect, Nano Energy, 66(2019), art. No. 104110.

[58] Jia X, Tahir M, Pan L, et al. Direct Z-scheme composite of CdS and oxygen-defected CdWO₄: An efficient visible-light-driven photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution. Appl. Catal. B, 2016, 198, 154.

[59] Wang TY, Quan W, Jiang DL, et al. Synthesis of redox-mediator-free direct Z-scheme AgI/WO₃ nanocomposite photocatalysts for the degradation of tetracycline with enhanced photocatalytic activity. Chem. Eng. J., 2016, 300, 280.

[60] W.H. Liu, D.D. Liu, K. Wang, X.D. Yang, S.Q. Hu, and L.S. Hu, Fabrication of Z-scheme Ag₃PO₄/TiO₂ heterostructures for enhancing visible photocatalytic activity, Nanoscale Res. Lett., 14(2019), No. 1, art. No. 203.