Loading Ni(OH)2 on the Ti-doped hematite photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting

•Ni(OH)2/Ti-Fe2O3 photoanode was fabricated by a two-step hydrothermal method.•Ti doping had promoted the photovoltage of hematite by surface modification.•The loading of Ni(OH)2 improved the PEC of Ti-Fe2O3 as an effective OER catalyst.

Ni(OH)2/Ti-Fe2O3 photoanode was fabricated by a two-step hydrothermal method. The product showed a photocurrent density of 0.39 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V vs RHE. It was found that the Ti doping had promoted the photovoltage of hematite by surface modification rather than increasing donor density. The loading of Ni(OH)2 had further improved the photoelectrochemical performance of Ti-Fe2O3 via reducing both overpotential of oxygen evolution reaction and the recombination rate of the charge carriers. Moreover, the Ni(OH)2 content could be optimized to avoid light blocking effect due to excessive Ni(OH)2 loading. This confirms that Ni(OH)2/Ti-Fe2O3 could be a promising material for photoelectrochemical water splitting.

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