Inter-facet junction effects on particulate photoelectrodes

Particulate semiconductor photocatalysts are paramount for many solar energy conversion technologies. In anisotropically shaped photocatalyst particles, the different constituent facets may form inter-facet junctions at their adjoining edges, analogous to lateral two-dimensional (2D) heterojunctions or pseudo-2D junctions made of few-layer 2D materials. Using subfacet-level multimodal functional imaging, we uncover inter-facet junction effects on anisotropically shaped bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) particles and identify the characteristics of near-edge transition zones on the particle surface, which underpin the whole-particle photoelectrochemistry. We further show that chemical doping modulates the widths of such near-edge surface transition zones, consequently altering particles’ performance. Decoupled facet-size scaling laws further translate inter-facet junction effects into quantitative particle-size engineering principles, revealing surprising multiphasic size dependences of whole-particle photoelectrode performance. The imaging tools, the analytical framework and the inter-facet junction concept pave new avenues towards understanding, predicting and engineering (opto)electronic and photoelectrochemical properties of faceted semiconducting materials, with broad implications in energy science and semiconductor technology.