Rational Design of 3D Hierarchical Ternary SnO(2)/TiO(2)/BiVO(4) Arrays Photoanode toward Efficient Photoelectrochemical Performance

BiVO(4) as a promising semiconductor absorber is widely investigated as photoanode in photoelectrochemical water splitting. Herein, the rational design of 3D hierarchical ternary SnO(2)/TiO(2)/BiVO(4) arrays is reported as photoanode for photoelectrochemical application, in which the SnO(2) hierarchically hollow microspheres core/nanosheets shell arrays act as conductive skeletons, while the sandwiched TiO(2) and surface BiVO(4) are working as hole blocking layer and light absorber, respectively. Arising to the hierarchically ordered structure and synergistic effect between each component in the composite, the ternary SnO(2)/TiO(2)/BiVO(4) photoanode enables high light harvesting efficiency as well as enhanced charge transport and separation efficiency, yielding a maximum photocurrent density of ≈5.03 mA cm(−2) for sulfite oxidation and ≈3.1 mA cm(−2) for water oxidation, respectively, measured at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode under simulated air mass (AM) 1.5 solar light illumination. The results reveal that electrode design and interface engineering play important roles on the overall PEC performance.