Deposition of FeOOH Layer on Ultrathin Hematite Nanoflakes to Promote Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting
Hematite is one of the most promising photoanode materials for the study of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting because of its ideal bandgap with sufficient visible light absorption and stability in alkaline electrolytes. However, owing to the intrinsically high electron-hole recombination, t...
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Micromachines |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/15/3/387 |
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| author | Wenyao Zhang Ya Zhang Xiao Miao Ling Zhao Changqing Zhu |
| author_facet | Wenyao Zhang Ya Zhang Xiao Miao Ling Zhao Changqing Zhu |
| author_sort | Wenyao Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hematite is one of the most promising photoanode materials for the study of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting because of its ideal bandgap with sufficient visible light absorption and stability in alkaline electrolytes. However, owing to the intrinsically high electron-hole recombination, the PEC performance of hematite is still far below that expected. The efficient charge separation can be achieved via growth of FeOOH on hematite photoanode. In this study, hematite nanostructures were successfully grown on the surface of iron foil by the simple immersion deposition method and thermal oxidation treatment. Furthermore, cocatalyst FeOOH was successfully added to the hematite nanostructure surface to improve charge separation and charge transfer, and thus promote the photoelectrochemical water splitting. By utilizing the FeOOH overlayer as a cocatalyst, the photocurrent density of hematite exhibited a substantial 86% increase under 1.5 V<sub>RHE</sub>, while the onset potential showed an apparent shift towards the cathodic direction. This can be ascribed to the high reaction area for the nanostructured morphology and high electrocatalytic activity of FeOOH that enhanced the amount of photogenerated holes and accelerated the kinetics of water splitting. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:00:51Z |
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| id | doaj.art-cc223ec5ba7041799ce3ba2984fd1507 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-666X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:00:51Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Micromachines |
| spelling | doaj.art-cc223ec5ba7041799ce3ba2984fd15072024-03-27T13:55:15ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2024-03-0115338710.3390/mi15030387Deposition of FeOOH Layer on Ultrathin Hematite Nanoflakes to Promote Photoelectrochemical Water SplittingWenyao Zhang0Ya Zhang1Xiao Miao2Ling Zhao3Changqing Zhu4Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Science and Technology, School of Physics Science and Information Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252059, ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Science and Technology, School of Physics Science and Information Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252059, ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Science and Technology, School of Physics Science and Information Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252059, ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Science and Technology, School of Physics Science and Information Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252059, ChinaShandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Science and Technology, School of Physics Science and Information Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252059, ChinaHematite is one of the most promising photoanode materials for the study of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting because of its ideal bandgap with sufficient visible light absorption and stability in alkaline electrolytes. However, owing to the intrinsically high electron-hole recombination, the PEC performance of hematite is still far below that expected. The efficient charge separation can be achieved via growth of FeOOH on hematite photoanode. In this study, hematite nanostructures were successfully grown on the surface of iron foil by the simple immersion deposition method and thermal oxidation treatment. Furthermore, cocatalyst FeOOH was successfully added to the hematite nanostructure surface to improve charge separation and charge transfer, and thus promote the photoelectrochemical water splitting. By utilizing the FeOOH overlayer as a cocatalyst, the photocurrent density of hematite exhibited a substantial 86% increase under 1.5 V<sub>RHE</sub>, while the onset potential showed an apparent shift towards the cathodic direction. This can be ascribed to the high reaction area for the nanostructured morphology and high electrocatalytic activity of FeOOH that enhanced the amount of photogenerated holes and accelerated the kinetics of water splitting.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/15/3/387hematite photoanodecocatalystphotoelectrochemical water splitting |
| spellingShingle | Wenyao Zhang Ya Zhang Xiao Miao Ling Zhao Changqing Zhu Deposition of FeOOH Layer on Ultrathin Hematite Nanoflakes to Promote Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Micromachines hematite photoanode cocatalyst photoelectrochemical water splitting |
| title | Deposition of FeOOH Layer on Ultrathin Hematite Nanoflakes to Promote Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting |
| title_full | Deposition of FeOOH Layer on Ultrathin Hematite Nanoflakes to Promote Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting |
| title_fullStr | Deposition of FeOOH Layer on Ultrathin Hematite Nanoflakes to Promote Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting |
| title_full_unstemmed | Deposition of FeOOH Layer on Ultrathin Hematite Nanoflakes to Promote Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting |
| title_short | Deposition of FeOOH Layer on Ultrathin Hematite Nanoflakes to Promote Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting |
| title_sort | deposition of feooh layer on ultrathin hematite nanoflakes to promote photoelectrochemical water splitting |
| topic | hematite photoanode cocatalyst photoelectrochemical water splitting |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/15/3/387 |
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