Water-soluble peroxotitanium complex: A novel strategy to prepare Fe2O3/Fe2TiO5 photoanode with enhanced water oxidation

The construction of Fe2O3/Fe2TiO5 heterostructure has been proven as an effective strategy to improve the photoconversion efficiency of hematite, however its controllable synthesis is still a great challenge. In this study, by performing a comparative investigation on two distinct Ti precursors, a novel, convenient, and low-cost approach for fabricating efficient Fe2O3/Fe2TiO5 photoanodes is developed. It clearly demonstrates that the adoption of typical TiCl4 precursor leads to a Fe2O3/TiO2 composite with a lower PEC activity, while a core-shell Fe2O3/Fe2TiO5 heterostructure is built via using the stable and water-soluble peroxo-titanium complex (PTC) precursor. The as-fabricated photoanode exhibits a comparable photocurrent density of 2.51 mA/cm(2) at 1.23 V vs. RHE to most of Fe2O3/Fe2TiO5 photoanodes in literatures. Based on various characterizations, the significant enhancement in PEC performance can be attributed to the largely increased donor density and the formation of Fe2O3/Fe2TiO5 core-shell heterostructure, which effectively facilitate the charge separation and transport in the bulk and surface of photoanode. This work provides a new idea for fabricating high-efficient Fe2O3/Fe2TiO5 photoanodes. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, a novel, convenient, and low-cost approach for fabricating efficient Fe2O3/Fe2TiO5 photoanodes is developed by comparing two distinct Ti precursors. It is found that the adoption of a stable and water-soluble peroxo-titanium complex (PTC) precursor leads to the formation of a core-shell Fe2O3/Fe2TiO5 heterostructure, resulting in improved photocurrent density and charge separation and transport.