Book Description
The development of renewable and environmentally benign methods to replace fossil fuel extraction for chemical and fuel production is vital to reduce CO2 emissions and limit the effects of climate change. Solar energy is widely available as a renewable clean energy source. The use of photoelectrochemistry to harness solar energy for chemical and fuel production can decrease society's dependence on fossil fuels and reduce CO2 emissions. The key component of a photoelectrochemical cell is the semiconductor photoelectrode. Bi-based oxide materials have been shown to be effective photoelectrodes due to their small band gaps and excellent charge separation efficiencies. Current areas of research into photoelectrodes include new material discovery, optimization of already known materials, and investigation of new reactions to perform photoelectrochemically. The work herein presents research into all of these areas using Bi-based and other metal oxide materials. First, a combined experimental and computational investigation of the interface between BiVO4 and FeOOH was conducted to improve our understanding of charge transfer between a photoabsorber and catalyst layer. It was discovered that varying the surface of BiVO4 between stoichiometric and Bi-rich affects the deposition of the FeOOH layer, and therefore the energetics at the interface, leading to significantly improved performance for the Bi-rich film. Alcohol oxidation on a BiVO4 photoanode was also investigated using the renewable feedstock chemical glycerol as a method for renewable chemical production. It was discovered that BiVO4 has a unique ability to promote a C-C coupling reaction that generates glycolaldehyde as the primary product, which has never been reported. SrBiO3 was also discovered as a photoelectrode material and synthesized as a thin film under ambient pressure for the first time. Investigation of its material properties and photoelectrochemical performance found SrBiO3 to be a promising photocathode material. Finally, a new electrochemical synthesis method was developed for the materials Fe2O3, CuO, CuFe2O4, and CuFeO2 utilizing the oxidation of catechol-metal complexes to deposit the desired metals. This method allowed for controlled ratios of Cu and Fe to be deposited and resulted in high surface area films that are favorable for use as photoelectrodes.