Issue 10, 2024

Development of an automated SILAR method for the sustainable fabrication of BiOI/TiO2 photoanodes

Abstract

BiOI is a promising material for use in photoelectrocatalytic water oxidation, renowned for its chemical inertness and safety in aqueous media. For device integration, BiOI must be fabricated into films. Considering future industrial applications, automated production is essential. However, current BiOI film production methods lack automation and efficiency. To address this, a continuous automated process is introduced in this study, named AutoDrop, for producing BiOI films. Autodrop results to be a fast and facile method for producing BiOI photoelectrodes. Nanostructured thin films of this layered material are prepared using a syringe pump to dispense the precursor solution onto a continuously spinning substrate. These films are integrated into a multilayered photoelectrode, featuring mesoporous TiO2 as an electron-transporting layer on top of FTO glass. In testing the photoelectrochemical performance of the BiOI/TiO2 photoelectrodes, the highest photocurrent (44 μA cm−2) is found for a heterojunction with a BiOI thickness of 320 nm. Additionally, a further protective TiO2 ultrathin layer in contact with BiOI, grown by atomic layer deposition, enhances the durability and efficiency of the photoanode, resulting in a more than two-fold improvement in photocurrent after 2 hours of continuous operation. This study advances the automation in the sustainable production of photoelectrode films and provides inspiration for further developments in the field.

Graphical abstract: Development of an automated SILAR method for the sustainable fabrication of BiOI/TiO2 photoanodes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 jun 2024
Accepted
04 sep 2024
First published
05 sep 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Energy Adv., 2024,3, 2564-2574

Development of an automated SILAR method for the sustainable fabrication of BiOI/TiO2 photoanodes

R. Altieri, F. Schmitz, M. Schenker, F. Boll, L. Rebecchi, P. Schweitzer, M. Crisci, I. Kriegel, B. Smarsly, D. Schlettwein, F. Lamberti, T. Gatti and M. Wang, Energy Adv., 2024, 3, 2564 DOI: 10.1039/D4YA00405A

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