Realization of Electrochemically Grown α-Fe2O3 Thin Films for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Application

Avinash V. Rokade, Yogesh A. Jadhav, Sagar Jathar, Swati Rahane, Sunil Barma, Ganesh K. Rahane, Sachin Thawarkar, Priti Vairale, Ashvini Punde, Shruti Shah, Sachin R. Rondiya, Nelson Y. Dzade, Bidhan Pandit, Jayant Pawar, Anurag Roy, Sandesh Jadkar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

33 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hematite ferric oxide (α-Fe2O3) based photoanode has emerged as a potential candidate for water splitting application due to its high absorption coefficient in the visible region and favorable band alignment. In the present work, α-Fe2O3 thin film photoanodes were fabricated using a cost-effective and straightforward electrodeposition technique. The crystal structure, phase purity, elemental composition, and formation of α-Fe2O3 were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The bandgap calculated from the absorption spectrum from UV-visible analysis of α-Fe2O3 exhibited a significant absorption in the visible region. The α-Fe2O3 photoanodes were further characterized for their photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties along with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis. Furthermore, XRD, SEM, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy investigations were performed after photoelectrochemical measurement to ensure the stability of photoanodes. Also, the prepared photoanode was highly stable against a large range of pH conditions, and no photobleaching was observed for up to 30 min. Furthermore, a significant enhancement in the photocurrent conversion efficiency with an optimum film thickness was observed upon light illumination. A maximum photon conversion efficiency of 1.44 % was obtained with a photocurrent density of 6.25 mA/cm2 for 1 V vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE) under the simulated solar light.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)242-255
Number of pages14
JournalEngineered Science
Volume17
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Chemistry (miscellaneous)
  • General Materials Science
  • Energy Engineering and Power Technology
  • General Engineering
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Applied Mathematics

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