Photocurrent Enhancement by Spontaneous Formation of a p–n Junction in Calcium-Doped Bismuth Vanadate Photoelectrodes

Fatwa F. Abdi; David E. Starr; Ibbi Y. Ahmet; Roel van de Krol

doi:10.1002/cplu.201800119

Photocurrent Enhancement by Spontaneous Formation of a p–n Junction in Calcium-Doped Bismuth Vanadate Photoelectrodes

Fatwa F. Abdi^*
, David E. Starr
, Ibbi Y. Ahmet
, Roel van de Krol

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The application of bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photoelectrodes for solar water splitting is hindered by the poor carrier transport. To overcome this, multiple donor-doping strategies (e.g. dual doping, gradient doping) have been explored. Here, we show for the first time the successful introduction of calcium (Ca) as an acceptor-type dopant into BiVO4 photoelectrodes. Interestingly, instead of generating cathodic photocurrents, the Ca-doped BiVO4 photoelectrodes show anodic photocurrents with an enhanced carrier separation efficiency. Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) shows that this enhancement is caused by out-diffusion of Ca during the deposition process, which spontaneously creates a p–n junction within the BiVO4 layer. Overall, a significant two-fold improvement of the AM1.5 photocurrent is obtained upon Ca-doping. This study highlights the importance of controlled doping beyond simply modifying carrier concentration and may enable new device architectures in photoelectrode materials. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	941-946
Journal	ChemPlusChem
Volume	83
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/cplu.201800119
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2018
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publication details (e.g. title, author(s), publication statuses and dates) are captured on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis at the time of record harvesting from the data source. Suggestions for further amendments or supplementary information can be sent to [email protected].

Funding

We acknowledge Christian Höhn for his assistance with the XPS measurements as well as Alexander Esau and Peter Bogdanoff for their help with the ICP-OES measurement. Part of this work was funded by Europe's Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (PECDEMO project, Grant Agreement no. 621252).

Research Keywords

BiVO4
photoelectrodes
p–n junction
solar water splitting

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abstract = "The application of bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photoelectrodes for solar water splitting is hindered by the poor carrier transport. To overcome this, multiple donor-doping strategies (e.g. dual doping, gradient doping) have been explored. Here, we show for the first time the successful introduction of calcium (Ca) as an acceptor-type dopant into BiVO4 photoelectrodes. Interestingly, instead of generating cathodic photocurrents, the Ca-doped BiVO4 photoelectrodes show anodic photocurrents with an enhanced carrier separation efficiency. Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) shows that this enhancement is caused by out-diffusion of Ca during the deposition process, which spontaneously creates a p–n junction within the BiVO4 layer. Overall, a significant two-fold improvement of the AM1.5 photocurrent is obtained upon Ca-doping. This study highlights the importance of controlled doping beyond simply modifying carrier concentration and may enable new device architectures in photoelectrode materials. {\textcopyright} 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH \& Co. KGaA, Weinheim",

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AU - van de Krol, Roel

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AB - The application of bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) photoelectrodes for solar water splitting is hindered by the poor carrier transport. To overcome this, multiple donor-doping strategies (e.g. dual doping, gradient doping) have been explored. Here, we show for the first time the successful introduction of calcium (Ca) as an acceptor-type dopant into BiVO4 photoelectrodes. Interestingly, instead of generating cathodic photocurrents, the Ca-doped BiVO4 photoelectrodes show anodic photocurrents with an enhanced carrier separation efficiency. Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) shows that this enhancement is caused by out-diffusion of Ca during the deposition process, which spontaneously creates a p–n junction within the BiVO4 layer. Overall, a significant two-fold improvement of the AM1.5 photocurrent is obtained upon Ca-doping. This study highlights the importance of controlled doping beyond simply modifying carrier concentration and may enable new device architectures in photoelectrode materials. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

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Photocurrent Enhancement by Spontaneous Formation of a p–n Junction in Calcium-Doped Bismuth Vanadate Photoelectrodes

Abstract

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