Affiliation:
1. Key Laboratory for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials (Ministry of Education) School of Materials Science and Engineering Northeastern University Shenyang 110819 China
2. Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science Institute of Metal Research Chinese Academy of Sciences 72 Wenhua Road Shenyang 110016 China
3. School of Materials Science and Engineering University of Science and Technology of China 72 Wenhua Road Shenyang 110016 China
Abstract
AbstractCrystal facet‐dependent photogenerated charge transfer at the semiconductor/current collector interface of photoelectrodes is equally important compared to that at the semiconductor/liquid interface for efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, which, however, is difficult to explore due to the rigid solid/solid interface in conventional photoelectrodes. Here, the facet‐dependent charge transfer at both semiconductor/liquid and semiconductor/collector interfaces in liquid metal‐embraced photoelectrodes is systematically investigated using faceted BiVO4 micro‐particles with different ratios of {110} and {010} facets as model materials. The results from the photo(electro)chemical and photophysical characterizations reveal that {010} facets outperform {110} facets at the semiconductor/liquid interface in triggering water oxidation due to the lower valence band maximum (VBM) of {010} facets, while {110} facets are more efficient at the semiconductor/metal interface for the collection of photogenerated electrons due to their higher conduction band minimum (CBM). Consequently, the photoelectrodes of liquid metal‐embraced BiVO4 particles exposing 53% {110} facets yield the best PEC performance for water splitting due to the well‐balanced photogenerated charge transfer at the interfaces of semiconductor/metal and semiconductor/liquid.
Funder
National Key Research and Development Program of China
Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
National Natural Science Foundation of China