Home > NANO-RESEARCH > Vol. 5 (2012) > No. 5

Article Title
Surface tuning for promoted charge transfer in hematite nanorod arrays as water-splitting photoanodes
Keywords
Surface tuning, hematite, nanorods, photoanodes
Abstract
ABSTRACT Hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanorod films with their surface tuned by W6+ doping have been investigated as oxygen- evolving photoanodes in photoelectrochemical cells. X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, and photoelectrochemical (PEC) measurements have been performed on the undoped and W6+-doped α-Fe2O3 nanorod films. W6+ doping is found to primarily affect the photoluminescence properties of α-Fe2O3 nanorod films. Comparisons are drawn between undoped and W6+-doped α-Fe2O3 nanorod films, WO3 films, and α-Fe2O3–modified WO3 composite electrodes. A close correlation between dopant con- centration, photoluminescence intensity, and anodic photocurrent was observed. It is suggested that W6+ surface doping promotes charge transfer in α-Fe2O3 nanorods, giving rise to the enhanced PEC performance. These results suggest surface tuning via ion doping should represent a viable strategy to further improve the efficiency of α-Fe2O3 photoanodes.
Graphical Abstract
Publisher
Tsinghua University Press
Recommended Citation
Shaohua Shen,Coleman X. Kronawitter,Jiangang Jiang,Samuel S. Mao,Liejin Guo, Surface tuning for promoted charge transfer in hematite nanorod arrays as water-splitting photoanodes. NanoRes.2012, 5(5): 327–336