Issue 15, 2012
From the journal:

Nanoscale

Surface treatment of hematite photoanodes with zinc acetate for water oxidation†

Lifei Xi,a   Prince Saurabh Bassi,a   Sing Yang Chiam,b   Wai Fatt Mak,a   Phong D. Tran,c   James Barber,ade   Joachim Say Chye Loo*a  and  Lydia Helena Wong*a  

* Corresponding authors

a School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore
E-mail: Joachimloo@ntu.edu.sg, Lydiawong@ntu.edu.sg

b Institute of Materials Research and Engineering(IMRE), Agency of Science, Technology, and Research (A*Star), 3 Research Link, Singapore 117602, Singapore

c Energy Research Institute@NTU, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Drive, Research Techno Plaza, X-Frontier Block, Level 5, Singapore 637553

d Division of Molecular Biosciences Imperial College London, London, UK

e BioSolar Laboratory, Department of Material Sciences and Chemical Engineering, Polytechnic of Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, Torino, Italy

Abstract

A simple and inexpensive method to form a hematite photoanode for efficient water oxidation is reported. A very thin ZnO overlayer was deposited on top of a thin film of hematite and found, compared with non-treated hematite, to increase the photocurrent and reduce the onset potential for generating oxygen from water. After 3 cycles of ZnAc treatment, the photocurrent increased more than 40% to 1.08 mA cm−2 at 0.23 V vs. Ag/AgCl and onset potential for water oxidation shifted by −170 mV. It is proposed that the ZnO overlayer changes the flat band potential of hematite and reduces the surface defects.

Graphical abstract: Surface treatment of hematite photoanodes with zinc acetate for water oxidation

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/C2NR30862B
Article type
Communication
Submitted
11 Apr 2012
Accepted
08 May 2012
First published
11 May 2012

Nanoscale, 2012,4, 4430-4433

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Surface treatment of hematite photoanodes with zinc acetate for water oxidation

L. Xi, P. S. Bassi, S. Y. Chiam, W. F. Mak, P. D. Tran, J. Barber, J. S. Chye Loo and L. H. Wong, Nanoscale, 2012, 4, 4430 DOI: 10.1039/C2NR30862B

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