VARIABILITY TESTING OF BIVO4 PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS

Variability of BiVO4 Photovoltaic Cells and their Capability for Hydrogen Production
Rachel Berry & Kylie Britt
Massanutten Regional Governors School
March 1, 2015

VARIABILITY TESTING OF BIVO4 PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

Solar hydrogen energy as a renewable resource is a process that produces only oxygen
and uses only water and sunlight. This energy source could potentially provide energy for more
than it currently does. Research into this process includes work on the photovoltaics, known as
photoanodes, and the coating on those cells that can increase the efficiency of the suns power.
Improving the electric output of photovoltaic thin films has been made possible by using
a chemical known as bismuth vanadate. The chemical makeup, however, of that bismuth
vandate (BiVO) is variable and the elemental differences may have an effect on the electric
current output of the films.
Either bismuth or vanadate is expected to have a more positive impact, so it can be
determined which chemical should be applied to the films more heavily.

RESEARCH METHODS AND CONCLUSIONS

The fabrication of bismuth and vanadium biased films begins with a glass surface coated
with the solution through a deposition process called ultra-spray pyrolysis. The coated films are
then glued to conductive wires, so that the computer system can pick up the electric current and
record it. In the clean room, suits, gloves, and goggles are worn to maintain protection from
harmful chemicals, and to keep the films free of any excess debris that may influence results.
Keeping track of which film is biased in which chemical, those films are stored and moved from
the Clean Room to a separate lab for testing.

VARIABILITY TESTING OF BIVO4 PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS

By testing a bias of bismuth and of vanadium, the electric output can be compared. Once
the films have been coated with the chemicals, they are subject to photoelectrochemical testing,
which uses a solar simulator to recreate the effect of sunlight on the photovoltaics. This process
is performed with a small film sample. The Keithley Lab System produces current electric output
(in mA) at five different test voltages.
The currents are then compared for each film, recorded in a spreadsheet, and graphed
using Microsoft Excel. Just by looking at the graphs of the electric currents, there is a noticeable
difference in the biased films.
The difference between the bismuth and vanadium biased films was not as drastic as
predicted, but vanadium biased films seem to have performed better with photoelectrochemical
testing. With these results, the solar-hydrogen process is one step closer to optimization.

VARIABILITY TESTING OF BIVO4 PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS

References
CU-boulder team develops new water splitting technique that could produce hydrogen fuel.
University of Colorado Boulder. (2013, August 1). Retrieved from
http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2013/08/01/cu-boulder-team-develops-newwater-splitting-technique-could-produce
Currao, A. Photoelectrochemical water splitting. CHIMIA, 61 (12), 815-819. (2007).
Holland, S., Dutter, M., Lawrence, D., Reisner, B., and DeVore, C. Photoelectrochemical
performance of W-doped BiVO4 thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis. SPIE, 8822, 514. (2013).
Hydrogen energy. Renewable energy world, Retrieved from
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/tech/hydrogen
MacQueen, D. B. (n.d.). Photoelectrochemical water splitting. Retrieved from
http://gcep.stanford.edu/pdfs/hydrogen_workshop/MacQueen.pdf
Sun, Y., Murphy, C., Reyes-Gil, K., Reyes-Garcia, E., Thornton, J., Morris, N., & Raftery, D.
(2009). Photoelectrochemical and structural characterization of carbon-doped WO films
3

prepared via spray pyrolysis. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 34, 8476- 8484.