Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
Volume 44, Issue 36, Pages 19667-19675Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.06.055
Keywords
Hematite; Ceramics; Photoanode; Water splitting; Solar energy
Categories
Funding
- CONACYT-Mexico [280373, A1-S-20353, 259705]
- PRODEP [UTMIX-PTC-054]
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Photoelectrochemical water splitting using solar energy is a highly promising technology to produce hydrogen as an environmentally friendly and renewable fuel with high-energy density. This approach requires the development of appropriate photoelectrode materials and substrates, which are low-cost and applicable for the fabrication of large area electrodes. In this work, hematite photoelectrodes are grown by aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AA-CVD) onto highly-conductive and bulk porous SnO2 (Sb-doped) ceramic substrates. For such photoelectrodes, the photocurrent density of 2.8 mA cm(-2) is achieved in aqueous 0.1 M NaOH under blue LED illumination (lambda = 455 nm; 198 mW cm(-2)) at 1.23 V vs. RHE (reversible hydrogen electrode). This relatively good photoelectrochemical performance of the photoelectrode is achieved despite the simple fabrication process. Good performance is suggested to be related to the three-dimensional morphology of the porous ceramic substrate resulting in excellent light-driven charge carrier harvesting. The porosity of the ceramic substrate allows growth of the photoactive layer (SnO2-grains covered by hematite) to a depth of some micrometers, whereas the thickness of Fe2O3-coating on individual grains is only about 100-150 nm. This architecture of the photoactive layer assures a good light absorption and it creates favourable conditions for charge separation and transport. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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