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Vapor Phase Processing of α-Fe2O3Photoelectrodes for Water Splitting: An Insight into the Structure/Property Interplay

Michael Warwick Orcid Logo, Kimmo Kaunisto, Davide Barreca, Giorgio Carraro, Alberto Gasparotto, Chiara Maccato, Elza Bontempi, Cinzia Sada, Tero-Petri Ruoko, Stuart Turner, Gustaaf Van Tendeloo

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Volume: 7, Issue: 16, Pages: 8667 - 8676

Swansea University Author: Michael Warwick Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1021/acsami.5b00919

Abstract

Harvesting radiant energy to trigger water photoelectrolysis and produce clean hydrogen is receiving increasing attention in the search of alternative energy resources. In this regard, hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanostructures with controlled nano-organization have been fabricated and investigated for use a...

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Published in: ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
ISSN: 1944-8244 1944-8252
Published: 2015
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa32767
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Abstract: Harvesting radiant energy to trigger water photoelectrolysis and produce clean hydrogen is receiving increasing attention in the search of alternative energy resources. In this regard, hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanostructures with controlled nano-organization have been fabricated and investigated for use as anodes in photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells. The target systems have been grown on conductive substrates by plasma enhanced-chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) and subjected to eventual ex situ annealing in air to further tailor their structure and properties. A detailed multitechnique approach has enabled to elucidate the interrelations between system characteristics and the generated photocurrent. The present α-Fe2O3 systems are characterized by a high purity and hierarchical morphologies consisting of nanopyramids/organized dendrites, offering a high contact area with the electrolyte. PEC data reveal a dramatic response enhancement upon thermal treatment, related to a more efficient electron transfer. The reasons underlying such a phenomenon are elucidated and discussed by transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) studies of photogenerated charge carrier kinetics, investigated on different time scales for the first time on PE-CVD Fe2O3 nanostructures.
Keywords: hematite; hierarchical structures; PE-CVD; PEC; transient absorption spectroscopy; water splitting
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Issue: 16
Start Page: 8667
End Page: 8676