Continuous‐Flow Synthesis of BiVO <sub>4</sub> Nanoparticles: From Laboratory Scale to Practical Systems
Cost-effective and efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting stands out as one of the most promising strategies to address sustainable energy supply in the form of green H<sub>2</sub>. Large-area photoelectrodes featuring precise chemical and morphological control are key components for a practical solar-to-hydrogen conversion. Herein, we report the continuous flow synthesis of BiVO<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles (NPs) by using a simple microreactor configuration. The solution containing the as-prepared NPs enables the deposition of BiVO<sub>4</sub> photoanodes with areas up to 52 cm<sup>2</sup> through a simple and scalable chemical bath deposition method. On the other hand, surface protection by an ultrathin Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> overlayer grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) increases the performance of the 1 cm<sup>2</sup> BiVO<sub>4</sub> photoanodes ~30 %, exhibiting a photocurrent density of ~2.0 mA⋅cm<sup>-2</sup> at 1.23 V vs. the Reversible Hydrogen Electrode in the presence of a sacrificial hole scavenger. The optimized continuous flow synthesis provides an affordable methodology for the fabrication of cost-effective, large-scale photoanodes, which could potentially be applied for different photoelectrochemical reactions.
Authors
- Sara Barja (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4257-2651)
- Jordi Arbiol (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0695-1726)
- Diego Iglesias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4030-5816)
- Camilo Arturo Mesa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8450-2563)
- Frederik Schiller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1727-3542)
- Beatriz Julián‐López (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1019-776X)
- Laura Montañés (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1076-013X)
- Víctor Sans (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7045-5244)
- Sixto Giménez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4522-3174)
- Ana Gutiérrez‐Blanco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9412-2321)
- Jesús Redondo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8147-689X)
- Christian Robles (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1166-2950)
- María Chiara Spadaro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6540-0377)
- Helena Rabelo
Institutions
- Universitat Jaume I (ES)
- Ikerbasque (ES)
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES)
- Marche Polytechnic University (IT)
- University of the Basque Country (ES)
- Charles University (CZ)
- University of Catania (IT)
- Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ES)
- Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania (IT)
- Institute of Nanotechnology (GB)
- Material Physics Center (ES)
- Donostia International Physics Center (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ChemSusChem
- Published
- 2025-02-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202402583
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.09
Funders
- Centres de Recerca de Catalunya
- Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia
- European Commission
- Generalitat de Catalunya
- Generalitat Valenciana
- Universitat Jaume I
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación