Continuous-Flow Synthesis of BiVO4 Nanoparticles: From laboratory scale to practical systems

Ana Gutiérrez Blanco^a, Christian Robles^a, Laura Montañés^a, Camilo Arturo Mesa^b, Diego Iglesias^a, Helena Rabelo^b, Maria Chiara Spadaro^b^,^c, Jordi Arbiol^b^,^d, Jesús Redondo^e^,^f^,^g, Frederik Schiller^e^,^f^,^h, Sara Barja^e^,^f^,^h^,ⁱ, Beatriz Julián López^a, Víctor Sans^a, Sixto Giménez Juliá^a

^aInstitute of Advanced Materials (INAM), Universitat Jaume I, Av. De Vicent Sos Baynat, s/n 12071 Castellò, Spain

^bCatalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), ES

^cDepartment SIMAU, Marche Polytechnic University. Via Brecce Bianche 12, 60131 Ancona (Italy)

^dICREA, Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain

^eCentro de Física de Materiales CFM/MPC (UPV/EHU-CSIC), Donostia-San Sebastián 20018, Spain

^fUniversity of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Barrio Sarriena, S/N, Leioa, Spain

^gDepartment of Surface and Plasma Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, 180 00 Prague 8, Czech Republic

^hDonostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 4, 20018 Donostia - San Sebastian, Spain

ⁱIKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Spain.

Proceedings of The Future of Hydrogen: Science, Applications and Energy Transition (H2Future)

Ibiza, Spain, 2024 April 17th - 19th

Organizers: Carolina Gimbert Suriñach, Sixto Gimenez Julia and Emilio Palomares

Oral, Ana Gutiérrez Blanco, presentation 025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.hfuture.2024.025
Publication date: 27th February 2024

Cost-effective and efficient photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting stands out as one of the most promising strategies to address sustainable energy supply in the form of green H₂. However, large-area photoelectrodes featuring precise chemical and morphological control are needed for a practical solar-to-hydrogen conversion. In this regard, it is necessary to find efficient ways to up-scale laboratory synthesis to an industrial relevant scale. The emergence of continuous flow technologies offers an alternative strategy for preparing advanced materials in a highly controlled, reproducible, and scalable fashion,^[1] influencing the synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs). Semiconductor NPs have attracted a great deal of interest in the last decades due to the increasingly range of applications. Among n-type semiconductors, Bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) is one of the most attractive materials used as photoanode for water oxidation due to its low cost, stability in aqueous solutions and moderate band gap (2.4 eV).^[2] However, the large-scale synthesis of this material is still limited to the use of conventional batch processes, and it is necessary to achieve high-production yields due to the increasing demand in the field of energy materials.

In this communication we show the preparation of BiVO₄ NPs by using a simple continuous-flow method. The proposed system allows to up-scale the synthesis through a microreactor and provides an affordable methodology for the fabrication of cost-effective, large-scale BiVO₄ photoanodes with areas up to 50 cm² and competitive performance.

References:

[1] Iglesias, D., Haddad, D., Sans, V. Recent Developments in Process Digitalisation for Advanced Nanomaterial Syntheses. Chem-Methods. 2022, 2, 1-9.

[2] Park, Y., Mc Donald, K.J., Choi, K.S. Progress in bismuth vanadate photoanodes for use in solar water oxidation. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2013, 42, 2321-2337.

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