Stable and Efficient Photoinduced Charge Transfer of MnFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/Polyaniline Photoelectrode in Highly Acidic Solution

Tailoring conductive polymers with inorganic photocatalysts, which provide photoinduced electron-hole generation, have significantly enhanced composites leading to excellent photoelectrodes. In this work, MnFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles prepared by a hydrothermal...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohammed Alsultan, Shaymaa Al-Rubaye, Amar Al-Keisy, Gerhard F. Swiegers, Intisar Ghanim Taha
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-12-01
Series:Colloids and Interfaces
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2504-5377/6/1/1
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Summary:Tailoring conductive polymers with inorganic photocatalysts, which provide photoinduced electron-hole generation, have significantly enhanced composites leading to excellent photoelectrodes. In this work, MnFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles prepared by a hydrothermal method were combined with polyaniline to prepare mixed (hybrid) slurries, which were cast onto flexible FTO to prepare photoelectrodes. The resulting photoelectrodes were characterized by XRD, FESEM, HRTEM and UV-VIS. The photoelectrochemical performance was investigated by linear sweep voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The photocurrent achieved by MnFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/Polyaniline was 400 μA/cm<sup>2</sup> at 0.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl in Na<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> (pH = 2) at 100 mW/cm<sup>2</sup>, while polyaniline alone achieved only 25 μA/cm<sup>2</sup> under the same conditions. The best MnFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/Polyaniline displayed an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) and applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) of 60% at 405 nm wavelength, and 0.17% at 0.8 V vs. Ag/AgCl, respectively. High and stable photoelectrochemical performance was achieved for more than 900 s in an acidic environment.
ISSN:2504-5377