Sharif Digital Repository

Semiconductor photoelectrodes for water oxidation that absorb visible light usually have poor electronic transport properties and small optical absorption coefficients near their absorption edge. Therefore, innovative designs that lead to significant optical absorption in relatively thin layers of these compounds are highly desirable. Here, using full-field electromagnetic optical simulations, we demonstrate that a monolayer of resonant-size BiVO4 spheres can provide enhancement up to a factor of two in solar light absorption relative to dense planar layers. In this monolayer, BiVO4 spheres do not need to be interconnected; therefore, such monolayers are flexible and their fabrication...