SILAR Growth of Ag3VO4 and Characterization for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

α-Ag3VO4 has shown promise as a photocatalyst for decomposition of organics and H2O in particle dispersion studies, but no thin film studies of Ag3VO4 have looked at its photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties. Addressing this deficiency, we grow films via successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) and characterize the material using standard physical and PEC techniques. We confirm a low bandgap of 2.2 eV and report the first results on chemical and electrochemical stability, intrinsic doping behavior, flat-band potential, and potential dependence of photocurrent. While our results are not initially promising with respect to the applicability of Ag3VO4 to solar water splitting, they highlight the most important property changes necessary to make Ag3VO4 competitive with better known photocatalysts and the salience of thin-film studies for PEC material characterization.