Decorating the Cocatalyst Membrane with Coordinated
Tannic Acid and Ternary Metal for Advancing Photoelectrochemical Performance
of F‑Doped Hematite Photoanodes
posted on 2021-09-15, 11:34authored byXuefeng Long, Peng Wang, Jun Jin, Xinhong Zhao, Jiantai Ma
The advancement of photoelectrochemical
water splitting oxygen
evolution technology is the key to improving the solar-hydrogen conversion
efficiency. The theoretically highly active hematite-based photoanode
still requires modification from inside to outside to conquer ultrafast
carrier recombination and a high reaction barrier. Herein, we report
a uniform and ultrathin cocatalyst with coordinated tannic acid, Ni,
Fe, and Co (TA–NFC), for enhancing photoelectrochemical performance
of the F-doped Fe2O3 nanorod (NR) photoanode.
The F-doping in the structure fulfills more carrier density and lower
charge transfer resistance for accelerating photogenerated electron
and hole separation. Furthermore, the TA–NFC cocatalyst on
the surface assists hole injection and supports faster water oxidation
kinetic. Ultimately, the photocurrent density of F–Fe2O3@TA–NFC NRs sharply increased up to 3.02 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V versus RHE, and the applied-bias photon-to-current
efficiency reached 0.33% maximum at low bias. This work may supply
a novel and promising design scheme for improving the intrinsic photoelectrochemical
activity of semiconductor-based photoanodes.