WO3 mesocrystal-assisted photoelectrochemical activity of BiVO4

Self-assembled nanocomposites have gained much attention over the past decade due to their intriguing properties and functionalities. In this work, we developed a self-assembled nanocomposite photoanode composed of an epitaxial BiVO4 matrix embedded with WO3 mesocrystals for photoelectrochemical (PEC) applications in the visible-light regime. The orientation of the crystal facet and interface provides a superior template to understand the intimate contact between the two constituent phases. We demonstrate that the interfacial coupling of the mesocrystal and matrix improves the separation of photoexcited carriers and the properties of charge transfer, resulting in a greatly enhanced PEC performance compared with their parent compounds. The current study demonstrates that the utilization of the interface-to-volume ratio to optimize charge interactions in the nanocomposite is essential for the advanced design of novel mesocrystal-embedded nanocomposite photoelectrodes. NPG Asia Materials (2017) 9, e357; doi:10.1038/am.2017.15; published online 10 March 2017