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Download fileSpray Pyrolysis Deposition of ZnFe2O4/Fe2O3 Composite Thin Films on Hierarchical 3‑D Nanospikes for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Oxidation of Water
journal contribution
posted on 2017-08-18, 17:09 authored by Shabeeb Hussain, Shazia Hussain, Aashir Waleed, Mohammad Mahdi Tavakoli, Shihe Yang, Muhammad Khawar Rauf, Zhiyong Fan, Muhammad Arif NadeemIn this work, we study the role of
nanotextured ZnFe2O4/Fe2O3composite thin films fabricated
by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) on the photoelectrochemical water
oxidation reactions. The ZnFe2O4/Fe2O3 composites with different molar ratios are deposited
on three-dimensional nanospikes (NSP) substrate, and the results are
compared with those for planar devices. It is observed that optical
absorption and charge separation due to larger surface area is significantly
enhanced in nanotextured photoactive ZnFe2O4/Fe2O3 films. After characterization of ZnFe2O4/Fe2O3 composite films
with different molar ratios (ZF1, ZF2, and ZF3), we find that the
nanotextured ZF1 composite with a molar ratio of 1:1 has the highest
activity with photocurrent density of 2.19 mA/cm2 in photoelectrochemical
oxidation of water. This photocurrent density is 3.4 and 2.73 times
higher than the photocurrent density values of pure hematite on planar
fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass and the highest reported
value of ZnFe2O4/Fe2O3 composite, respectively. In addition, the results of electrochemical
impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and photoluminescence (PL) tests indicate
lower charge transfer resistance and faster charge extraction for
the nanotextured ZnFe2O4/Fe2O3 composite (ZF1). Overall, our new fabrication process for
the ZnFe2O4/Fe2O3 composite
together with the effect of nanostructured substrate shows a better
charge separation and enhanced optical absorption, resulting in a
highly efficient photoelectrochemical water-splitting device.
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Keywords
molar ratioselectrochemical impedance spectroscopyZnFephotocurrent density valuesphotocurrent densityPLnanotextured ZF 1Fecharge separationFTOEISUSPfilmfluorine-doped tin oxideNSPSpray Pyrolysis DepositionEfficient Photoelectrochemical Oxidationphotoelectrochemical water-splitting devicephotoelectrochemical water oxidation reactionscharge transfer resistance