Electrodeposited Ti-doped hematite photoanodes and their employment for photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen production in the presence of ethanol

• Ti-doped hematite photoanodes made by an easy electrodeposition procedure.
• Impressive increase of photocurrent by Ti doping.
• Increase of photocurrent in the presence of ethanol used as model fuel.
• Photoelectrochemical hydrogen production beyond water splitting.
• Large increase of hydrogen production rate in the presence of ethanol.

Hematite photoanodes have been constructed and doped with titanium by electrodeposition followed by high temperature annealing. Efficient photoanodes were thus made and optimized and were used for the construction of photoelectrochemical cells employed for hydrogen production both by water splitting in the absence of sacrificial agents and by photo-reforming in the presence of ethanol. The photocurrent substantially increased in the presence of ethanol and it was followed by a large increase in the rate of hydrogen production, which almost doubled in the presence of ethanol. Hydrogen was always produced under electric bias.

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