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Abstract
Visible light active semiconductor Bi2WO6 photoelectrodes with desired physical and chemical properties are sought for solar energy conversion and photocatalytic applications. The porous nanostructured Bi2WO6 photoelectrodes are prepared by Spray Pyrolysis (SP). A detail study has been conducted to correlate the annealing temperature, morphology and crystallographic orientation with the photoelectrochemical (PEC), electrochemical and photocatalytic properties. The photoelectrodes possess an optical bandgap of 2.82 eV and exhibit anodic photocurrent. The current-voltage characterization of Bi2WO6 photoelectrodes reveals that the photocurrent density and photocurrent onset potential is strongly dependent on the deposition parameters. The PEC study shows that the photoelectrode annealed at 525 °C has photocurrent density of 42 μAcm−2 at 0.23 V (vs Ag/AgCl/3M KCl) under AM1.5 illumination and exhibit superior photocatalytic activity for Rhodamine B (RhB) degradation. The electrochemical study shows that the photoelectrode has flatband potential of 2.85 V which is in good agreement with photocurrent onset potential. This finding will have a significant influence on further exploitation of Bi2WO6 as a potential semiconductor material in solar energy conversion and photocatalytic applications.
Highlights
Architectural control of nanoparticles with well-defined shapes and alignment of nanobuilding blocks into ordered superstructures have been key challenge in materials chemistry and nanotechnology [1,2]
Bi2WO6 photoelectrodes prepared at different calcination temperature were used in the experiment in order to investigate the influence of annealing temperature of electrodes on the efficiency of degradation
The electrode annealed at 500 °C and 525 °C follow the Nernstian slope to entire range of measured pH and the Vfb and its pH dependence support the argument that the nanoplate structures provides high internal surface area which allows more electrolyte solution to penetrate to the interior of each porous nanostructure providing a large semiconductor/electrolyte interface to enhance the photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performance of photoelectrodes
Summary
Architectural control of nanoparticles with well-defined shapes and alignment of nanobuilding blocks into ordered superstructures have been key challenge in materials chemistry and nanotechnology [1,2]. A significant interest has been received on controlling the shape, size and structure of nanostructured materials because of the strong correlation between morphology and physical/chemical properties [3]. Among different electrode/thin film deposition techniques, spray pyrolysis (SP) is simple, versatile and has advantage that a single solution source can be used to fabricate multicomponent oxide photoelectrodes. It diminish the stringent CVD requirement of precursor volatility and precursor need to be soluble in a solvent from which an aerosol can be generated [19,20]. Our findings will undoubtedly have a significant influence on further exploitation of Bi2WO6 as a potential semiconductor material in solar energy conversion and photocatalytic applications
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