FTO∕SnO[sub 2]∕BiVO[sub 4] Composite Photoelectrode for Water Oxidation under Visible Light Irradiation

Abstract

An layer prepared from ethanol solution was applied to fabricate an composite photoelectrode. The layered composite films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. The photocurrent efficiency of increased remarkably when an film was layered between the layer and the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conducting electrode, indicating the efficient charge separation via the electron transfer from to and the blocking of the hole transfer from to the FTO surface. It was also demonstrated that the sequence for depositing the individual metal oxide layer on the FTO substrate was an important factor for such efficient charge separation of the electrode.