Fabrication of nanostructured α-Fe2O3 electrodes using ferrocene for solar hydrogen generation

Nanostructured thin films of α-Fe2O3 were prepared through atmospheric chemical vapour deposition (APCVD) using ferrocene and iron pentacarbonyl as precursors. Higher optical absorption was observed for hematite films prepared using ferrocene, which was attributed to the higher packing density. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) studies of the films prepared using ferrocene showed superior performance to that of iron pentacarbonyl. Photocurrent density of 540 µA/cm2 and 1.5 µA/cm2 at 1.23 VRHE was achieved for hematite films prepared using ferrocene and iron pentacarbonyl, respectively. Our findings suggest that ferrocene can be used as a promising alternative to iron pentacarbonyl to prepare hematite photoelectrodes using APCVD.