Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Chem Soc Rev. 2013 Mar 21;42(6):2321-37. doi: 10.1039/c2cs35260e. Epub 2012 Oct 23.
Harvesting energy directly from sunlight as nature accomplishes through photosynthesis is a very attractive and desirable way to solve the energy challenge. Many efforts have been made to find appropriate materials and systems that can utilize solar energy to produce chemical fuels. One of the most viable options is the construction of a photoelectrochemical cell that can reduce water to H(2) or CO(2) to carbon-based molecules. Bismuth vanadate (BiVO(4)) has recently emerged as a promising material for use as a photoanode that oxidizes water to O(2) in these cells. Significant advancement in the understanding and construction of efficient BiVO(4)-based photoanode systems has been made within a short period of time owing to various newly developed ideas and approaches. In this review, the crystal and electronic structures that are closely related to the photoelectrochemical properties of BiVO(4) are described first, and the photoelectrochemical properties and limitations of BiVO(4) are examined. Subsequently, the latest efforts toward addressing these limitations in order to improve the performances of BiVO(4)-based photoanodes are discussed. These efforts include morphology control, formation of composite structures, composition tuning, and coupling oxygen evolution catalysts. The discussions and insights provided in this review reflect the most recent approaches and directions for general photoelectrode developments and they will be directly applicable for the understanding and improvement of other photoelectrode systems.
直接从阳光中获取能量，就像自然界通过光合作用所完成的那样，是解决能源挑战的一种非常有吸引力和理想的方式。人们已经做出了许多努力来寻找合适的材料和系统，以利用太阳能来生产化学燃料。其中最可行的选择之一是构建一个光电化学电池，该电池可以将水还原为 H(2)或 CO(2)到碳基分子。铋钒酸盐（BiVO(4)）最近作为一种有前途的材料出现，可以在这些电池中作为光阳极将水氧化为 O(2)。由于各种新开发的想法和方法，在短时间内，在理解和构建高效的基于 BiVO(4)的光阳极系统方面取得了重大进展。在这篇综述中，首先描述了与 BiVO(4)光电化学性质密切相关的晶体和电子结构，并研究了 BiVO(4)的光电化学性质和局限性。随后，讨论了为了提高基于 BiVO(4)的光阳极的性能而针对这些限制所做的最新努力。这些努力包括形态控制、复合结构的形成、组成调谐和耦合氧析出催化剂。本文的讨论和见解反映了通用光电极发展的最新方法和方向，它们将直接适用于其他光电极系统的理解和改进。
