Aerosol spraying of bismuth vanadate for hydrogen technology

Dense, nanostructured bismuth vanadate thin films were successfully deposited by aerosol deposition at room temperature. Aerosol deposition offers an alternative route for fabrication of photoactive metal oxide coatings as no binders or sintering processes are employed. A micron-sized bismuth vanadate powder was used to spray photoactive films (< 1 µm) on conductive fluor-doped tin oxide layers on glass and titanium substrates. The thin films are photocatalytically active under solar light due to the band gap energies of bismuth vanadate, and their nanosized structure increases surface area and catalytic activity. The coatings obtained were assessed based on microstructure, layer thickness, mechanical integrity, and photoelectrochemical activity.