Effect of the applied potential condition on the photocatalytic properties of Fe2O3|WO3 heterojunction films

Abstract

Semiconductors heterojunction and potential application have been investigated as strategy to improve the catalytic processes performance. In this study, we investigated the photocurrent response of photoanodes composed of two different heterojunctions, i.e., Fe2O3|WO3 and WO3|Fe2O3, which were prepared directly on transparent and conductive glass substrate (fluorine-doped tin oxide or FTO-glass) by combining hydrothermal and drop-casting methods. From photoelectrochemical studies, the conduction band edge’s positions for each semiconductor were determined using the Butler–Gartner model. The heterojunction films were utilized as photoanode in photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye in aqueous solution. Under polychromatic irradiation, superior performance was registered for FTO|WO3|Fe2O3 photoanode, reaching a RhB dye photodegradation around of 32% in 3 h. Moreover, we performed structural analyses, optical characterizations, and morphological property investigations using XRD, UV−Vis, and SEM techniques, respectively. Moreover, from the electrochemical studies, the superior photodegradation performance and photocurrent density for photoanode were registered for FTO|WO3|Fe2O3 film.