Pt-doped α-Fe2O3 photoanodes prepared by a magnetron sputtering method for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Abstract

Pt-doped α-Fe2O3 films have been fabricated on the fluorine-doped tin oxide substrates at different substrate temperatures (300–600°C) via a magnetron sputtering method and subsequently thermal oxidation. The structural and photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of the films were characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, Energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water splitting experiment. The film fabricated at 500°C shows the strongest diffraction peak of α-Fe2O3. EDS shows the films are composed of Fe, O and Pt, which were confirmed by the XPS measurement. The water splitting experiment indicates the doping of Pt is effective to enhance the PEC response. The film fabricated at 500°C shows a maximum photocurrent density of 0.34mA/cm2 at 1.23V versus reversible hydrogen electrode under standard illumination conditions (AM 1.5G 100mW/cm2). The incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency was also measured to understand the PEC water splitting for the present photoanodes.