In situ modification BiVO₄ photoanodes with ZnO quantum dots for booting photoelectrochemical water oxidization

In this work, a facile metal organic decomposition route was developed for synthesizing the ZnO quantum dots (QDs), which were then in situ deposited onto a BiVO₄ nanoporous films for enhancing its photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidization activity. The results shows that there aren’t significant changes in both the color and surface morphology of the BiVO₄ membrane after QD modification. Nevertheless, the ZnO/BiVO₄ photoanode demonstrates a maximum photocurrent density of 2.56 mA/cm² at a bias of 1.23 V_RHE with simulated solar irradiation, which is almost 2 times higher than that of the unmodified BiVO₄ one. The enhanced PEC performance is attributed to the formation of type II heterojunction, which promotes charge transfer/separation. This work might shield light on enhancing the PEC performance of BiVO₄ towards water oxidization.