Combining Bulk/Surface Engineering of Hematite To Synergistically Improve Its Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting Performance

One of the most promising candidates for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting photoanode is hematite (alpha-Fe2O3) due to its narrow bandgap and chemical stability. However, the poor bulk/surface kinetics of hematite limits its PEC performance. Herein, a facile two-step approach is reported to synergistically improve the PEC performance of Fe2O3. First, through bulk engineering of Ti doping, the photocurrent density of Ti-Fe2O3 photoanode (1.68 mA cm(-2) at 1.23 V-RHE) shows a 3-fold increase compared with that of pure Fe2O3 photoanode (0.50 mA cm(-2) at 1.23 V-RHE). Second, the photocurrent density of Ti-Fe2O3 photoanode could be further enhanced to 2.31 mA cm(-2) by surface engineering of FeOOH. The enhanced PEC water splitting performance is proposed to be the synergistic effect of bulk and surface engineering, which can be mainly attributed to the great increase of charge separation efficiency and surface transfer efficiency.