Large-area, regular, periodically ordered, and Au-nanoparticle-decorated 1-D BiVO4/WO3 nanorods as photoanodes with enhanced Photoelectrochemical performance

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is a promising and sustainable route for the environmentally friendly production of hydrogen. Although the heterojunction of tungsten trioxide (WO3) and bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) has been recognized as a promising photoanode material, it still faces challenges, including inadequate photocurrent density and limited nanostructure fabrication areas. In this study, we present an innovative approach for fabricating periodically-ordered 1D WO3 nanorods using nanoimprint lithography and hydrothermal synthesis, followed by BiVO4 deposition. The resulting periodically-ordered 1D BiVO4/WO3 nanorods distinctly outperform randomly grown nanorods and planar films in both small-scale (2 × 2.5 cm2) and large-scale (6 × 6 cm2) photoanodes, attributed to improved light absorption and facilitated charge transfer. To further enhance PEC performance, the 1D BiVO4/WO3 nanorods were decorated with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), leading to an additional performance boost due to the plasmonic effect.