Plasmonic Silver Nanoparticle-Impregnated Nanocomposite BiVO4 Photoanode for Plasmon-Enhanced Photocatalytic Water Splitting

Herein, we developed a fully solution-deposited nanocomposite photoanode based on silver nanoparticle (NP)-impregnated bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) films. The synthesized Ag NPs exhibit diameters of few nanometers and uniform matrix dispersion, which were confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The photoanode composed of the Ag NP-incorporated nanocomposite BiVO4 showed a remarkable enhancement in both low potential and the saturated photocatalytic current densities in comparison with the pristine BiVO4 film. The observed experimental results are attributed to the improved carrier generation and enhanced charge separation by the localized surface plasmon resonance-mediated effect as suggested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and a numerical simulation.