Atomic Layer Deposition of Bismuth Vanadate Core–Shell Nanowire Photoanodes

Bismuth vanadate (BVO) is a promising metal oxide semiconductor for photoelectrochemical water oxidation. In this study, BVO was deposited using atomic layer deposition (ALD) of alternating films of bismuth and vanadium oxides. A novel Bi-alkoxide precursor was used to enable precise control of stoichiometry along the spectrum of Bi-rich to V-rich compositions, and phase-pure monoclinic BVO films were obtained after postannealing. A planar photoanode composed of an undoped 41.8 nm BVO thin-film electrode with an ALD SnO2 buffer layer produced a photocurrent density of 2.24 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs RHE. ALD was used to conformally coat BVO and SnO2 on a ZnO nanowire template to produce core–shell photoanodes exhibiting a 30% increase in photocurrent density (2.9 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V) relative to planar control electrodes. This is the highest photocurrent reported to date for an ALD-deposited photoanode, and provides a pathway toward rational design of 3-D nanostructured photoelectrode architectures.