Journal
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
Volume 11, Issue 49, Pages 45683-45691Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b15317
Keywords
ferroelectric polarization; self-assembled nanostructures; photoelectrochemical water splitting; SrTiO3; nanoporous; thin films; solar energy
Funding
- UKIERI Grant [IND/CONT/E/12-13/813]
- EPSRC [EP/L011700/1, EP/N004272/1]
- MeitY Grant [RP03530]
- EPSRC [EP/P027032/1, EP/L011700/1, EP/N004272/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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Ferroelectric polarization is an intriguing physical phenomenon for tuning charge-transport properties and finds application in a wide range of optoelectronic devices. So far, ferroelectric materials in a planar geometry or chemically grown nanostructures have been used. However, these structural architectures possess serious disadvantages such as small surface areas and structural defects, respectively, leading to reduced performance. Herein, the growth of room-temperature ferroelectric nanoporous/nanocolumnar structure of Ag,Nb-codoped SrTiO3 (Ag/Nb:STO) using pulsed laser deposition is reported and demonstrated to have enhanced photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties using ferroelectric polarization. By manipulating the external electrical bias, similar to 3-fold enhancement in the photocurrent from 40 to 130 mu A.cm(-2) of film area is obtained. Concurrently, the flat-band potential is decreased from -0.55 to -1.13 V, revealing a giant ferroelectric tuning of the band alignment at the semiconductor surface and enhanced charge transfer. In addition, an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy study confirmed the tuning of the charge transfer with ferroelectric polarization. Our nanoporous ferroelectric-semiconductor approach offers a new platform with great potential for achieving highly efficient PEC devices for renewable energy applications.
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