Sb-Doped SnO2 Nanorods Underlayer Effect to the alpha-Fe2O3 Nanorods Sheathed with TiO2 for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Here, a Sb-doped SnO2 (ATO) nanorod underneath an alpha-Fe2O3 nanorod sheathed with TiO2 for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is reported. The experimental results, corroborated with theoretical analysis, demonstrate that the ATO nanorod underlayer effect on the alpha-Fe2O3 nanorod sheathed with TiO2 enhances the PEC water splitting performance. The growth of the well-defined ATO nanorods is reported as a conductive underlayer to improve alpha-Fe2O3 PEC water oxidation performance. The alpha-Fe2O3 nanorods grown on the ATO nanorods exhibit improved performance for PEC water oxidation compared to alpha-Fe2O3 grown on flat fluorine-doped tin oxide glass. Furthermore, a simple and facile TiCl4 chemical treatment further introduces TiO2 passivation layer formation on the alpha-Fe2O3 to reduce surface recombination. As a result, these unique nanostructures show dramatically improved photo-current density (139% higher than that of the pure hematite nanorods).