Dual Modification Strategy: Passivation Layer and Cocatalyst on Hematite for Improved Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation
α-Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> is a very attractive photoanode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water decomposition. However, its short diffusion length, poor conductivity, and fast charge-carrier recombination severely limit device efficiency. Here, coloading an Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> passivation layer and a CoO<sub><i>x</i></sub> cocatalyst onto Ti-doped α-Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> was carried out to promote PEC water oxidation by improving charge separation and transfer at the electrode/electrolyte interface and inhibiting photocarrier recombination. The optimized Ti:Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/CoO<sub><i>x</i></sub> photoanode shows a large photocurrent density of 1.41 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> at 1.23 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode, which is 47 times greater than that of a pristine Ti:Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> photoanode. The dual modifications with a combined passivation layer and cocatalyst on the photoanode verify a valuable way for solar energy conversion in PEC water oxidation.
Authors
- Xueyang Leng
- Lingling Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0243-9004)
- Zhi Yin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9972-8979)
- Dutong Wang
Institutions
- Harbin Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
- Published
- 2024-09-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c14137
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Iron oxide chemistry and applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.72