Determination of thermooptical and transport parameters of ε iron(III) oxide-based nanocomposites by beam deflection spectroscopy

• Method for determining thermo-optical and transport parameters during one measurements is proposed.
• Characterization of ε-Fe2O3-based nanomaterials supported on Si(1 0 0) is performed.
• Strategy for enhancing the lifetime of photogenerated charge carriers and decreasing the Eg values is described.
• A way of enhancement of the material’s thermal properties is presented.
• Development of more efficient nanocomposite systems for light-activated applications is achieved.

In this work, photothermal beam deflection (PBD) experiments have been used to characterize the thermooptical and transport properties of ε-Fe2O3-based nanocomposites. In particular, iron(III) nanostructures have been functionalized with Au, Ag and Cu nanoparticles, tailoring both their nano-organization and their chemical state. In order to elucidate the correlation between the thermooptical and transport parameters, the structural, compositional and morphological properties of Fe2O3-based systems were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It was observed that the optothermal and transport parameters were influenced by the nature and oxidation state of the nanoparticles, which can serve as a key tool to master the material properties for their application in light-assisted processes.