Journal article
SILAR-Deposited Hematite Films for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: Effects of Sn, Ti, Thickness, and Nanostructuring
Journal of physical chemistry. C, v 119(9), pp 4454-4465
05 Mar 2015
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Hematite (alpha-Fe2O3) has been widely investigated for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, but questions remain regarding the nature of improvements induced by different dopants. We report on facile annealing treatments to dope hematite with Ti and Sn, and we provide insight into the effects of the dopant concentration profiles on two key steps of PEC water oxidation: charge separation and interfacial hole transfer. Hematite thin films were deposited by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR), with and without the presence of a TiO2 underlayer on the F:SnO2 substrate, and annealed to drive diffusion of Ti and Sn from the underlying layers into the hematite. PEC measurements showed that Ti and Sn at the hematite surface increase hole injection efficiency from nearly zero to above 80%. Ti and Sn also slightly improve charge separation efficiency, although separation efficiency remains below 20% due to low hole mobility and high recombination rate. To overcome the small hole transport length, extremely thin hematite coatings were deposited on Sb:SnO2 monolayer inverse opal scaffolds. Photocurrent increased proportionately to the surface area of the scaffold. This study provides insight into the use of dopants and nanostructured architectures to improve PEC performance of hematite photoanodes.
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Details
- Title
- SILAR-Deposited Hematite Films for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting: Effects of Sn, Ti, Thickness, and Nanostructuring
- Creators
- Anthony J. Abel - Drexel UniversityIvan Garcia-Torregrosa - Drexel UniversityAnjli M. Patel - Drexel UniversityBorirak Opasanont - Drexel UniversityJason B. Baxter - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Journal of physical chemistry. C, v 119(9), pp 4454-4465
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society; Washington, DC
- Number of pages
- 12
- Grant note
- 0846464 / Div Of Chem, Bioeng, Env, & Transp Sys; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Directorate for Engineering (ENG) CMMI-1000111 / NSF; National Science Foundation (NSF) CBET-0846464 / NSF CAREER; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Office of the Director (OD) 1000111 / Div Of Civil, Mechanical, & Manufact Inn; National Science Foundation (NSF); NSF - Directorate for Engineering (ENG) European Erasmus Mundus programme MESC scholarship Drexel STAR Scholars Program
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Chemical and Biological Engineering
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000350840700003
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84924103302
- Other Identifier
- 991019168440504721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Chemistry, Physical
- Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
- Nanoscience & Nanotechnology