This chapter provides recent progress in developments of BiVO4- and Bi2Te3-based materials for high efficiency photoelectrodes and thermoelectric applications. The self-assembling nanostructured BiVO4-based materials and their heterostructures (e.g., WO3/BiVO4) are developed and studied toward high efficiency photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting via engineering the crystal and band structures and charge transfer processes across the heteroconjunctions. In addition, crystal and electronic structures, optical properties, and strategies to enhance photoelectrochemical properties of BiVO4 are presented. The nanocrystalline, nanostructured Bi2Te3-based thin films with controlled structure, and morphology for enhanced thermoelectric properties are also reported and discussed in details. We demonstrate that BiVO4-based materials and Bi2Te3-based thin films play significant roles for the developing renewable energy.
Part of the book: Bismuth