Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
6601575 | Electrochemistry Communications | 2013 | 4 Pages |
Abstract
The present work reports the enhancement of the photoelectrochemical water splitting performance of in-situ silicon (Si)-doped nanotubular/nanoporous (NT/NP) layers. These layers were grown by self-organizing anodization on Fe-Si alloys of various Si content. The incorporation of Si is found to retard the layer growth rates, leads to a more pronounced nanotubular morphology, and most importantly, an improved photoelectrochemical behavior. By increasing Si content from 1, 2 to 5 at.% in the iron oxide NT/NP photoanodes, the photocurrent onset potential shifts favorably to lower values. At 1.3 V vs. RHE, hematite layer with 5 at.% Si shows a 5-fold increase of the photocurrent, i.e. 0.5 mA cmâ 2 in comparison to 0.1 mA cmâ 2 for the undoped samples. The study also reveals that a suitable layer thickness is essential to achieve a beneficial effect of the Si doping.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering (General)
Authors
Chong-Yong Lee, Lei Wang, Yuya Kado, Robin Kirchgeorg, Patrik Schmuki,