Photoelectrochemical Investigation of Ultrathin Film Iron Oxide Solar Cells Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition

Atomic layer deposition was used to grow conformal thin films of hematite with controlled thickness on transparent conductive oxide substrates. The hematite films were incorporated as photoelectrodes in regenerative photoelectrochemical cells employing an aqueous [Fe(CN)(6)](3-/4-) electrolyte. Steady state current density versus applied potential measurements under monochromatic and simulated solar illumination were used to probe the photoelectrochemical properties of the hematite electrodes as a function of film thickness. Combining the photoelectrochemical results with careful optical measurements allowed us to determine an optimal thickness for a hematite electrode of similar to 20 nm. Mott-Schottky analysis of differential capacitance measurements indicated a depletion region of similar to 17 nm. Thus, only charge carriers generated in the depletion region were found to contribute to the photocurrent.