Top-down fabrication of bromine doped Bi2O3 nanowires with efficient charge separation for photoelectrochemical application

Photoanode material, as the core component of photoelectrochemical cell, has attracted great research interest. Here, bromine doped Bi2O3 nanowires (BBON) are achieved through a simple top-down method. Bromine doping changes the chemical environment of bismuth and oxygen atoms, and also changes the band edge position. As a result, BBON photoanode with efficient charge separation shows excellent photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic activity. The electricity generation property of BBON in the photoelectrochemical cell system is investigated. The short-circuit current density (Jsc) and open-circuit voltage (Voc) are measured to be 0.6045 μA/cm2 and 0.318 V, which is higher than that of bulk Bi2O3 photoanode. BBON is a possible candidate photoanode material and provides potential for electricity generation and pollutants degradation.