Photocatalysis: Selective Deposition of Ag₃PO₄ on Monoclinic BiVO₄(040) for Highly Efficient Photocatalysis (Small 23/2013)

Visible-light photocatalysis that can directly harvest energy from incoming solar energy offers a desirable way to solve energy and environment issues. On page 3951, J. L. Gong and co-workers report the preparation of an efficient homotype Ag3PO4/BiVO4 heterojunction photocatalyst via rational structure design. The Ag3PO4 nanoparticles are preferentially deposited on the highlyactive BiVO4 (040) facets via a surfactantmediated mechanism. The Ag3PO4/BiVO4 photocatalyst shows high charge separation efficiency as well as an enhanced visiblelight response and thus possesses excellent visible light photocatalytic activity. The capability of synthesizing a highly visible light active and stable heterojunction photocatalyst is useful for other solar conversion applications, such as PEC water splitting, dye-sensitized solar cells and photovoltaic devices.