Ag Nanoparticle-Decorated\nBiVO<sub>4</sub> Electrodeposited\nFilm as Photoanode for Enhancing the Performance of a Photocatalytic\nH<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> Fuel Cell

Due\nto the poor water oxidation kinetics and delayed carrier migration\nefficiency of the BiVO<sub>4</sub> photocatalyst, its photocatalytic\nH<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> generation and further utilization as the\nphotoanode in self-powered H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> fuel cells are\nlimited. In this study, BiVO<sub>4</sub> (BVO) electrodeposited on\nindium–tin oxide (ITO) in combination with the photoreduction\nof silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) has been successfully prepared and\nthen employed as the photoanode to construct an efficient photocatalytic\nH<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> fuel cell system. The photocatalytic H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> production and cell performance of Ag NP-decorated\nBVO (ABVO) photoanode are explored in the electrolyte of 0.2 mol L<sup>–1</sup> phosphate buffer solution under AM 1.5G (1 sun, 100\nmW cm<sup>–2</sup>) solar irradiation at atmosphere. After\nthe optimization of photoreduction time for Ag NP decoration, the\nmaximum power density of the 20 ABVO-based cell is up to 0.122 mW\ncm<sup>–2</sup>, which has around 2.0 times enhancement compared\nwith pure BVO (0.060 mW cm<sup>–2</sup>). The localized surface\nplasmon resonance effect of Ag NPs plays an important role in increasing\nnear-field enhancement-induced excitation efficiency, as well as the\nheterojunction formation between Ag NPs and BVO to effectively promote\nthe generation and migration of photogenerated holes for improving\nH<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> production through the water oxidation\nreaction. This work provides a feasible approach to construct the\nefficient photoanode for H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> production and\nfurther develop high-performance photocatalytic H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> fuel cells to realize solar energy conversion and utilization.