Tailoring morphology symmetry of bismuth vanadate photocatalysts for efficient charge separation

In one study published In the journal Science China Chemistry And led by Prof. Rengui Li (State Key Laboratory of Catalysis, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences), a clear difference in charge separation has been found by rationalizing the morphology symmetry of BiVO.₄ photocatalyst.

Interestingly, for octahedral BiVO₄ Crystal, photogenerated electrons and holes can be separated between edges and quasi-equivalent facets. However, as for truncated octahedral BiVO.₄photogenerated electrons migrate to {010} facets while photogenerated holes prefer to accumulate on {120} facets, thus realizing a spatial separation of photogenerated charges between different facets.

Morphology Tailoring of BiVO₄ The crystals lead to significantly improved photogenerated charge separation efficiency and photocatalytic water oxidation activity. The separation of photogenerated electrons and holes is modulated by tuning the built-in electric field to drive it. Morphology Coherence of BiVO₄ Crystal

“between Artificial photosynthesis Li says that through photocatalytic water splitting, which enables direct use of solar energy and storage in chemical fuels, photoinduced charge transfer from photocatalysts to catalytic surface sites ensures efficient solar energy utilization. is important for

“Therefore, exploring the influence of morphology is of great importance. aspect On charge separation. Based on previous research on local charge separation between different facets in semiconductor crystals, taking bismuth vanadate with a low symmetry structure as a platform, this work demonstrated the important role of morphology symmetry in charge separation. has revealed, which is important for facilitating rational design. of Synthetic Photocatalysts.”