Truffle-shaped ZnFe2O4-BiVO4 nanostructures nanocomposite for photoelectrochemical activity under light illumination

Abstract A truffle-shaped ZnFe2O4-BiVO4 nanocomposite was synthesized via a combination of chemical precipitation and hydrothermal method, and its structure, morphology, optical properties and electronic structure were studied using various characterization techniques. The photoelectrochemical activities of the individual materials and the nanocomposite were investigated under illumination. Structural analysis confirms the existence of cubic spinel ZnFe2O4 and tetragonal BiVO4 crystal phases with the optical band gaps of 2.13 and 2.18 eV, respectively. ZnFe2O4-BiVO4 nanocomposite showed the highest photoelectrochemical activity with a lowest charge transfer resistance of 23.99 Ω, photocurrent density of 0.2 mAcm−2, and Tafel slope of 36.6 mVdec−1. Furthermore, as determined by the Mott-Schottky analysis, the flat potentials of the photoelectrodes were found to depend strongly on the applied frequency. The cost-effective nanocomposite photoelectrode developed in this work has high potential for industrial application.