Solvent-induced morphological formation, optical and photoelectrochemical performance of α-Fe2O3 photoanode

• Published in: Bulletin of Materials Science
• Main Author: Aadenan A.; Arzaee N.A.; Noh M.F.M.; Mumthas I.N.N.; Daud M.N.M.; Mohamed N.A.; Teridi M.A.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2022
• Online Access: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85139414061&doi=10.1007%2fs12034-022-02780-8&partnerID=40&md5=29bf7ec1c2db421a3cafe3f7dd8962d3

Although α-Fe2O3 has been investigated extensively in photoelectrochemical (PEC) systems, however, producing efficient and practical photoelectrodes remains a challenge. Here, we demonstrate the α-Fe2O3 photoanodes fabricated by employing two different organic solvents (ethanol and methanol) via aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition. The idea is to show that using different solvents could influence the overall performance of the fabricated photoanode. It is observed that the solvent with higher polarity enhanced the crystal growth direction of α-Fe2O3 on the (110) orientation of the rhombohedral structure and the solution with lower polarity resulted in superior grain growth. The light absorption improved with the energy bandgap reduced significantly due to the enhancement of morphological formation. The PEC performance exhibited good photoanodic responses with photocurrent density increased gradually from 29 to 75 µA cm–2 at 1.23 V (vs. RHE), resulting in good charge transfer behaviour and stability. This provides valuable information on the possible strategy in producing efficient optoelectronic devices. © 2022, Indian Academy of Sciences.