| A Systematic Investigation of Mo-doped BiVO₄ Photoanodes Using Combinatorial Sputtering and High Throughput Screening |
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Hyeon-Bin Lee1,2, Jun-Seok Ha2, Hyeon-Taek Jeong1, Jae-Cheol Park1, Tae-Won Kim1 |
1Energy & Nano Technology Group, Korea Institute of Industrials Technology 6, Cheomdan-gwagiro 208-gil, Buk-ku, Gwangju, 61012, Republic of Korea.
2Department of Chemical Engineering, Chonnam National University 77, Yongbong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-757, Republic of Korea. |
Correspondence:
Jun-Seok Ha,
Email: jsha@jnu.ac.kr
Jae-Cheol Park,
Email: jerwual@kitech.re.kr
Tae-Won Kim,
Email: twkim90@kitech.re.kr
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Received: 26 September 2025 • Accepted: 25 November 2025 |
| Abstract |
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The development of efficient photoelectrode materials for solar water splitting is often hindered by time-consuming and costly compositional optimization. To address this challenge, we fabricated a molybdenum (Mo)-doped bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) thin-film library with a wide compositional gradient on a single substrate using a combinatorial sputtering system. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of this library were then rapidly evaluated using a custom-built high-throughput scanning photoelectrochemical microscopy (SPECM) system. Analyses of the composition, structure, morphology, and optical properties revealed that Mo concentration critically influences the film's crystallinity and PEC activity. Excessive Mo doping led to lattice distortion and microstructural defects, which enhanced charge recombination and decreased photocurrent. Conversely, a low Mo concentration in the range of 1–2 at.% achieved an optimal balance, preventing the charge recombination via n-type doping while preserving the excellent crystallinity of the BiVO₄ lattice. Consequently, the highest photocurrent (0.15 mA/cm2) was observed for BVO4 films with 0.96 at.% Mo. This study demonstrates that the integration of combinatorial synthesis with high-throughput screening provides a powerful and efficient strategy for rapidly identifying optimal photoelectrode compositions and systematically elucidating the interrelationship among their properties. |
| Keywords:
High-Throughput Screening, Combinatorial Sputtering, Bismuth Vanadate, Dopant Optimization, Photoelectrochemistry |
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