Simple Fabrication of BiVO4 Thin Films Synthesized by Modified SILAR Method: Effect of Film Thickness

Abstract

In this study, BiVO4 photoanodes were synthesized using a simple and inexpensive modified successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. In particular, the effect of the number of SILAR cycles on the photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of BiVO4 was evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed the porous surface morphology of the BiVO4 thin layers with irregularly shaped particles formed on the surface of fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates. The crystal structure of BiVO4 was confirmed using X-ray diffraction analysis. The ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry results indicated that the bandgap energy of the deposited film was approximately 2.4 eV. In addition, the PEC properties of the BiVO4 photoanodes using potentiostat were analyzed. The linear sweep voltammetry curves revealed that the photocurrent density of the BiVO4 samples increased with the increasing number of m-SILAR cycles, and a maximum photocurrent density of approximately 0.83 mA cm−2 was achieved for the BVO-35. These results suggest that an efficient photoelectrode for compact PEC cells can serve as a basis for development.