Fabrication of tungsten oxide photoanode by doctor blade technique and investigation on its photocatalytic operation mechanism

Abstract

WO3 is a potential material candidate for construction of photoanode for solar driven water splitting. In this work, μm-thick porous WO3 photoanode is prepared by depositing a stable ink made of WO3 nanoparticles and Aristoflex velvet polymer in water using the doctor blade technique, followed by a sintering in air. The nature of WO3 nanoparticles, its loading mass on F-doped tin oxide electrode as well as sintering temperature are examined in order to optimize the photocatalytic activity of the resultant WO3 photoanode. The operation of WO3 photoanode is investigated by varying the light illumination direction and light incident intensity as well as changing the nature of the electrolyte. Dissolved tungsten in electrolyte is quantified by ICP-MS providing insights into the influences of electrolyte nature and operating conditions to the corrosion of WO3. It is proposed that the H2O2 and OH. radical generated as by-products of the photo-driven water oxidation on the photoanode surface are harmful species that accelerate the dissolution of WO3.