A surface disordered layer is a plausible approach to improve the photoelectrochemical performance of TiO₂. However, the formation of a crystalline disordered layer in BiVO₄ and its effectiveness towards photoelectrochemical water splitting has remained a big challenge. Here, we report a rapid solution process (within 5 s) that is able to form a disordered layer of a few nanometers thick on the surface of BiVO₄ nanoparticles using a specific solution with a controllable reducing power. The disordered layer on BiVO₄ alleviates charge recombination at the electrode–electrolyte interface and reduces the onset potential greatly, which in turn results in a photocurrent density of approximately 2.3 mA cm⁻² at 1.23 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). This value is 2.1 times higher than that of bare BiVO₄. The enhanced photoactivity is attributed to the increased charge separation and transfer efficiencies, which resolve the intrinsic drawbacks of bare BiVO₄ such as the short hole diffusion length of around 100 nm and poor surface oxygen evolution reactivity.

中文翻译：

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在单斜BiVO4上快速形成无序层：无助催化剂的光电化学太阳水分解

表面无序层是改善TiO ₂的光电化学性能的可行方法。然而，BiVO _4中晶体无序层的形成及其对光电化学水分解的有效性仍然是一个很大的挑战。在这里，我们报告了一种快速的溶解过程（在5 s之内），该过程能够使用具有可控还原能力的特定溶液在BiVO ₄纳米颗粒的表面上形成几纳米厚的无序层。BiVO ₄上的无序层可减轻电极-电解质界面处的电荷复合，并大大降低启动电位，从而产生约2.3 mA cm ^-2的光电流密度相对于可逆氢电极（RHE）在1.23 V下的电压。该值是裸BiVO _4的2.1倍。增强的光活性归因于电荷分离和转移效率的提高，从而解决了BiVO ₄裸露的固有缺陷，例如约100 nm的短空穴扩散长度和较差的表面氧逸出反应性。