Simple Fabrication of BiVO4 Thin Films Synthesized by Modified SILAR Method: Effect of Film Thickness

In this study, BiVO 4 photoanodes were synthesized using a simple and inexpensive modified successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method. In particular, the effect of the number of SILAR cycles on the photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of BiVO 4 was evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed the porous surface morphology of the BiVO 4 thin layers with irregularly shaped particles formed on the surface of fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates. The crystal structure of BiVO 4 was confirmed using X-ray diffraction analysis. The ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry results indicated that the bandgap energy of the deposited film was approximately 2.4 eV. In addition, the PEC properties of the BiVO 4 photoanodes using potentiostat were analyzed. The linear sweep voltammetry curves revealed that the photocurrent density of the BiVO 4 samples increased with the increasing number of m-SILAR cycles, and a maximum photocurrent density of approximately 0.83 mA cm −2 was achieved for the BVO-35. These results suggest that an efficient photoelectrode for compact PEC cells can serve as a basis for development.