Surviving High-Temperature Calcination: ZrO2-Induced Hematite Nanotubes for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

Chengcheng Li, Ang Li, Zhibin Luo, Jijie Zhang, Xiaoxia Chang, Zhiqi Huang, Tuo Wang*, Jinlong Gong

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

154 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Nanotubular Fe2O3 is a promising photoanode material, and producing morphologies that withstand high-temperature calcination (HTC) is urgently needed to enhance the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance. This work describes the design and fabrication of Fe2O3 nanotube arrays that survive HTC for the first time. By introducing a ZrO2 shell on hydrothermal FeOOH nanorods by atomic layer deposition, subsequent high-temperature solid-state reaction converts FeOOH-ZrO2 nanorods to ZrO2-induced Fe2O3 nanotubes (Zr-Fe2O3 NTs). The structural evolution of the hematite nanotubes is systematically explored. As a result of the nanostructuring and shortened charge collection distance, the nanotube photoanode shows a greatly improved PEC water oxidation activity, exhibiting a photocurrent density of 1.5 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE), which is the highest among hematite nanotube photoanodes without co-catalysts. Furthermore, a Co-Pi decorated Zr-Fe2O3 NT photoanode reveals an enhanced onset potential of 0.65 V (vs. RHE) and a photocurrent of 1.87 mA cm−2 (at 1.23 V vs. RHE).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4150-4155
Number of pages6
JournalAngewandte Chemie - International Edition
Volume56
Issue number15
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Apr 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • depletion region
  • FeO nanotubes
  • high-temperature calcination
  • water oxidation
  • zirconium doping

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Li, C., Li, A., Luo, Z., Zhang, J., Chang, X., Huang, Z., Wang, T., & Gong, J. (2017). Surviving High-Temperature Calcination: ZrO2-Induced Hematite Nanotubes for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, 56(15), 4150-4155. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201611330