Ultrasmall Co3O4 Nanocrystals Strongly Enhance Solar Water Splitting on Mesoporous Hematite

The synthesis of crystalline, nonagglomerated, and perfectly dispersible Co3O4 nanoparticles with an average size of 3-7 nm using a solvothermal reaction in tert-butanol is reported. The very small size and high dispersibility of the Co3O4 nanoparticles allow for their homogeneous deposition on mesoporous hematite layers serving as the photoactive absorber in the light-driven water splitting reaction. This surface treatment leads to a striking photocurrent increase. While the enhancement of hematite photoanode performance by cobalt oxides is known, the preformation and subsequent application of well-defined cobalt oxide nanoparticles are novel and allow for the treatment of arbitrarily complex hematite morphologies. Photo-electrochemical and transient absorption spectroscopy studies show that this enhanced performance is due to the suppression of surface electron-hole recombination on time scales of milliseconds to seconds.