Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme
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HL: Fachverband Halbleiterphysik
HL 9: Oxide Semiconductors I
HL 9.1: Talk
Monday, March 17, 2025, 15:00–15:15, H17
Nitrogen Doping of Sputtered BiVO4 Thin Films — •Hannah Sassenfeld1,2, Tsedenia Zewdie1,2, Ian D. Sharp1,2, and Verena Streibel1,2 — 1Walter Schottky Institute, Technical University of Munich, D-85748 Garching, Germany — 2Physics Department, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, D-85748 Garching, Germany
Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) is a promising photoanode material for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, given its suitable band gap (≈2.5 eV) and valence band maximum position relative to the water oxidation potential. Reducing the band gap of BiVO4 can lead to a more effective utilization of the solar spectrum. One strategy towards band gap reduction is nitrogen incorporation, as previously reported by Irani et al. [1] and Kim et al. [2]. While both studies observe reduced band gaps, they do not agree on how nitrogen is incorporated into BiVO4 and whether it improves or deteriorates PEC performance. To shed light onto the nature and effects of nitrogen incorporation, we use well-controlled reactive co-sputter deposition of BiVO4 in nitrogen-containing environments (N:BiVO4). Adjusting the amount of nitrogen in the reactive gas mixture and post-annealing treatments allow us to control the amount of incorporated nitrogen. Using this systematic sample library of N:BiVO4, we interrogate the optical and structural properties of N:BiVO4, its composition and electronic structure, and evaluate the impact of nitrogen incorporation on PEC performance.
[1] Irani et al. Solar RRL 4.1 (2020): 1900290. [2] Kim et al. Nature communications 6.1 (2015): 8769.
Keywords: Solar water splitting; Nitrogen doping; Bismuth vanadate; green hydrogen