Synthesis of Fe2O3 photoanode with improved photoelectrochemical performance by surface electrochemical pretreatment and Ti-doping

Abstract:

Ti-doped Fe2O3 photoanode was obtained through metal–organic decomposition method. The physical and photophysical properties of the hematite photoanode were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the photo-electrochemical performance was evaluated for the Ti-doped Fe2O3 photoanode. In terms of maximizing the photoelectrochemical performances of the Ti-doped Fe2O3 photoanodes, the doping concentration of titanium was optimized. The Ti-doped Fe2O3 photoanode exhibits improved photoelectrochemical performance after the electrochemical surface pretreatment. The photoelctrochemical response of hematite photoanode can be improved by both titanium doping and the electrochemical surface pretreatment. Based on the analysis of the Mott–Schottky plots and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS), a possible mechanism was proposed to explain the reason for the enhancement of photocurrent.