Unlock the Visible-Light Photocatalytic OWS by Surface Disorder-Engineered Bi-Based Composite Oxides through Phosphorization

Wenjian Fang; Yang Yang; Qihong Lu; Yihao Meng; Wenfeng Shangguan

doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c03306

Unlock the Visible-Light Photocatalytic OWS by Surface Disorder-Engineered Bi-Based Composite Oxides through Phosphorization

Inorg Chem. 2023 Dec 11;62(49):20306-20313. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c03306. Epub 2023 Nov 24.

Authors

Wenjian Fang^{1

2}, Yang Yang¹, Qihong Lu¹, Yihao Meng¹, Wenfeng Shangguan²

Affiliations

¹ School of Electrical and Energy Power Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002, China.
² Research Center for Combustion and Environment Technology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dong Chuan Road, Shanghai 200240, China.

PMID: 38000909
DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c03306

Abstract

It has been proven that the introduction of disorder in the surface layers can narrow the energy band gap of semiconductors. Disordering the surface's atomic arrangement is primarily achieved through hydrogenation reduction. In this work, we propose a new approach to achieve visible-light absorption through surface phosphorization, simultaneously raising the energy band structure. In particular, the surface phosphorization of Bi_xY_1-xVO₄ was successfully prepared by annealing them with a small amount of NaH₂PO₂ under a N₂ atmosphere. After this treatment, the obtained Bi_xY_1-xVO₄ showed distinct absorption in visible light. The surface phosphorization treatment not only improves the photocatalytic activity of Bi_xY_1-xVO₄ but also enables visible-light photocatalytic overall water splitting. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this surface phosphorization method is universal for Bi-based composite oxides.