Photoelectrochemical performance of bismuth vanadate photoanode for water splitting under concentrated light irradiation

Abstract

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a promising way to convert solar energy into hydrogen energy. It is typically carried out at room temperature (RT) and 1 sun illumination. The PEC water splitting under concentrated light is expected to be an effective route to improve PEC performance, but there are few studies on it. Herein, CoPi/Mo:BiVO4 photoanode was selected to investigate the effect of concentrated light and the reaction temperature on its PEC performance. It was revealed that CoPi/Mo:BiVO4 showed enhanced PEC performance under concentrated light. The photocurrent density was enhanced with increased light intensity and increased reaction temperature. At a high temperature (60 °C), the normalized photocurrent density (3.31 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V vs. RHE) was found to be optimal at 4 suns, which was attributed to the synergistic effect of concentrating light and heating. It is proved that concentrated light can effectively improve the PEC performance, which has important guiding significance to realize the low-cost and efficient PEC water splitting.