TY - JOUR
T1 - Hematite photoelectrodes grown on porous CuO–Sb2O5–SnO2 ceramics for photoelectrochemical water splitting
AU - Bondarchuk, Alexander N.
AU - Corrales-Mendoza, Iván
AU - Marken, Frank
AU - Arellanes-Mendoza, Luis
AU - Aguilar-Martínez, Josué A.
AU - Silva-Vidaurri, L. G.
AU - Curiel-Olivares, Gonzalo
AU - Montejo-Alvaro, F.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank Prof. L. Peter for his help and useful discussion of the EIS-data. This work was supported by the National Science and Technology Council of Mexico (CONACYT) , grant # A1-S-20353 . FMA acknowledges PRODEP for his Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct this research.
Funding Information:
The authors thank Prof. L. Peter for his help and useful discussion of the EIS-data. This work was supported by the National Science and Technology Council of Mexico (CONACYT), grant # A1-S-20353. FMA acknowledges PRODEP for his Postdoctoral Fellowship to conduct this research.
PY - 2021/3/31
Y1 - 2021/3/31
N2 - Photoelectrodes capable of cost-effective hydrogen production on a large scale, via photoelectrochemical water splitting under solar light, could offer an elegant solution to many current problems of humankind caused by over-reliance on fossil fuels and the resulting environmental pollution. The search and design of low-cost photoelectrode materials and substrates for practical applications are required. In this work, unmodified hematite photoanodes grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MO-CVD) onto CuO–Sb2O5–SnO2 ceramic substrates are reported. The deposition time of hematite precursor varied between 10 min, 60 min, and 90 min. The photoanode grown for 60 min exhibits the highest photocurrent density recorded at 1.23 V vs RHE (reversible hydrogen electrode): 4.79 mA/cm2 under blue light of Thorlabs LED M455L2 (455 nm), 0.41 mA/cm2 under the radiation of the real sun in Mexico, and 0.38 mA/cm2 under AM1.5G solar simulator conditions. The high porosity of CuO–Sb2O5–SnO2 ceramics permits the permeation of the hematite precursor into the substrate bulk, which results in 3D-growth of a thin Fe2O3-coating (50 nm or less) on conductive SnO2-grains in the ceramics to a depth of ca. 5 μm. The thick photocatalytic layer (SnO2-grains coated by hematite) of several micrometers assures a good light harvesting by the photoelectrode, while the nano-sized Fe2O3-films on conductive SnO2-grains is favorable for charge diffusion. This architecture of the photoelectrode results in good photoelectrochemical characteristics and is promising for further development.
AB - Photoelectrodes capable of cost-effective hydrogen production on a large scale, via photoelectrochemical water splitting under solar light, could offer an elegant solution to many current problems of humankind caused by over-reliance on fossil fuels and the resulting environmental pollution. The search and design of low-cost photoelectrode materials and substrates for practical applications are required. In this work, unmodified hematite photoanodes grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MO-CVD) onto CuO–Sb2O5–SnO2 ceramic substrates are reported. The deposition time of hematite precursor varied between 10 min, 60 min, and 90 min. The photoanode grown for 60 min exhibits the highest photocurrent density recorded at 1.23 V vs RHE (reversible hydrogen electrode): 4.79 mA/cm2 under blue light of Thorlabs LED M455L2 (455 nm), 0.41 mA/cm2 under the radiation of the real sun in Mexico, and 0.38 mA/cm2 under AM1.5G solar simulator conditions. The high porosity of CuO–Sb2O5–SnO2 ceramics permits the permeation of the hematite precursor into the substrate bulk, which results in 3D-growth of a thin Fe2O3-coating (50 nm or less) on conductive SnO2-grains in the ceramics to a depth of ca. 5 μm. The thick photocatalytic layer (SnO2-grains coated by hematite) of several micrometers assures a good light harvesting by the photoelectrode, while the nano-sized Fe2O3-films on conductive SnO2-grains is favorable for charge diffusion. This architecture of the photoelectrode results in good photoelectrochemical characteristics and is promising for further development.
KW - Hematite
KW - Photoanode
KW - Solar energy
KW - Tin-dioxide ceramics
KW - Water splitting
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096831436&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.solmat.2020.110886
DO - 10.1016/j.solmat.2020.110886
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85096831436
VL - 221
JO - Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
JF - Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
SN - 0927-0248
M1 - 110886
ER -