articleThe Journal of Physical Chemistry LettersJul 31, 2013GREEN OA

The Origin of Slow Carrier Transport in BiVO 4 Thin Film Photoanodes: A Time-Resolved Microwave Conductivity Study

FFFatwa F. AbdiTJTom J. SavenijeMMMatthias M. MayBDB. DamRVRoel van de Krol

Delft University of Technology · Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie

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Abstract

We unravel for the first time the origin of the poor carrier transport properties of BiVO4, a promising metal oxide photoanode for solar water splitting. Time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) measurements reveal an (extrapolated) carrier mobility of ∼4 × 10–2 cm2 V–1 s–1 for undoped BiVO4 under ∼1 sun illumination conditions, which is unusually low for a photoanode material. The poor carrier mobility is compensated by an unexpectedly long carrier lifetime of 40 ns. This translates to a relatively long diffusion length of 70 nm, consistent with the high quantum efficiencies reported for BiVO4 photoanodes. Tungsten (W) doping is found to strongly decrease the carrier mobility by introducing…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Conductivity
  • Materials science
  • Microwave
  • Electron mobility
  • Doping
  • Carrier lifetime
  • Optoelectronics
  • Diffusion
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Clean water and sanitation
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