Epitaxial growth of Bi2S3 nanowires on BiVO4 nanostructures for enhancing photoelectrochemical performance

Abstract

In this paper, a novel Bi₂S₃/BiVO₄ heterojunction film was prepared by a facile drop-casting and hydrothermal method for the first time. The as-prepared films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultraviolet visible spectrometry (UV-Vis). Interestingly, the heterojunction film was formed by epitaxial growth of Bi₂S₃ nanowires on BiVO₄ nanostructures and exhibited a good visible light absorption performance. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen generation was demonstrated using the prepared films as photoanodes. The heterojunction photoelectrode showed an excellent PEC activity and generated a photocurrent density of 7.81 mA cm⁻² at 0.9761 V vs. RHE (0.1 V vs. Ag/AgCl) in the electrolyte solution containing 0.35 M Na₂SO₃ and 0.25 M Na₂S. The present study provides new insight into the design of highly efficient heterojunction photoelectrodes for hydrogen generation.