Nb Additive Incorporation for Enhanced Z-Scheme Photocatalytic Activity in BiVO_4

摘要

Photocatalysis is a promising pathway to direct utilization of solar energy for chemical fuel production. A major challenge is development of low cost, stable active materials that utilize alarge fraction of the solar spectrum. BiVO4 is a promising candidate material that acts as oxidizing species in a Z-scheme water splitting reaction, capable of utilizing visible light (band gap 2.4 eV). In this work we demonstrate enhanced water-splitting performance of BiVO4 by incorporation of Zr additive and compare the physical mechanism to that of Mo additive that is known to enhance performance of BiVO4.