Voltage dependent photocurrent of thin film hematite electrodes

The current density (J) vs. applied voltage (V) curves of thin-film hematite electrodes under illumination exhibit non-ideal behavior; as a result, very poor fill factors and photocurrent densities are generally observed. A simple model is presented to describe the photocurrent density behavior of hematite photoelectrodes, which assumes only drift collection of holes in a uniform electric field. Excellent agreement is found between the model and experimental results. Use of this model provides important insight into the limitations of hematite electrodes as well as strategies to achieve improved efficiency. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3622130]