Rational Design of NiFeO <sub>X</sub> and Cobalt‐Integrated Hydroxyapatite Nanoarchitecture on BiVO <sub>4</sub> Photoanode for Enhanced and Durable Solar to Water Oxidation
ABSTRACT Solar‐driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting offers a sustainable route to solar‐to‐fuel conversion; however, its practical application is hindered by sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics and severe surface charge recombination. BiVO 4 (BVO) is a promising photoanode material but suffers from inefficient charge separation and limited operational stability. Herein, we report a dual‐catalyst strategy in which cobalt‐incorporated hydroxyapatite (Co‐HAP) is synergistically integrated with NiFeO X nanosheets to simultaneously enhance OER activity and durability. The optimized BVO/NiFeO X /Co‐HAP photoanode achieves a photocurrent density of 6.36 mA·cm −2 at 1.23 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) under AM 1.5G illumination in neutral phosphate electrolyte, nearly sevenfold higher than pristine BVO. Comprehensive analyses reveal that the NiFeO X /Co‐HAP nanosheet framework promotes efficient interfacial charge extraction, establishes a favorable surface electric field, and suppresses hole‐electron recombination. The 2D nanoarchitecture provides abundant Co active sites, while interfacial NiFeO X accelerates hole extraction and facilitates electron transfer from Ni to V sites, thereby mitigating V 5+ dissolution. Notably, the photoanode demonstrates extended operational stability of ≈120 h in a phosphate electrolyte. This work highlights a robust design strategy that leverages the synergistic ion‐exchange capacity of HAP and the charge‐extraction ability of NiFe catalysts to advance efficient and durable PEC water‐splitting systems.
Authors
- A. Putta Rangappa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1258-6016)
- Sai Kishore Ravi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9785-3215)
- Haneol Oh
- S.M. Cho
- Tae Wu Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6370-0907)
- H. Khai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6064-396X)
- Tae Gyun Woo
- Inae Song
- J. Christina Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1129-0050)
- Yuexing Zhang
- D. Praveen Kumar
- K. Arun Joshi Reddy
- Tae Kyu Kim
- Madhusudana Gopannagari
Institutions
- Hong Kong Baptist University (HK)
- Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- City University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Northwestern Polytechnical University (CN)
- Yonsei University (KR)
- Kyung Hee University (KR)
- Dezhou University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Energy Materials
- Published
- 2026-02-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202505403
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00