Copper Vanadate Oxides (CuV2O6, Cu2V2O7) films were produced via electrostatic spray deposition for use as photoelectrodes for solar water splitting. Characterization of these films by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Ra...
Copper Vanadate Oxides (CuV2O6, Cu2V2O7) films were produced via electrostatic spray deposition for use as photoelectrodes for solar water splitting. Characterization of these films by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis was performed. Electrosprayed CVO films yielded a photocurrent density of 0.65mA/cm2 for a spraying time of 5 min in a mixed aqueous electrolyte consisting of 0.1 M borate and 0.1 M Na2SO3 under 100mW/cm2 illumination. Improvement in the electrochemical kinetics at the electrode surface leads high photocurrent density because of the scavenging holes from the electrolyte. In this paper, Cu2V2O7 was confirmed to be more suitable than CuV2O6 with respect to water splitting, when the annealing temperature was determined to be 500℃, as it exhibited a higher photocurrent density.