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Published June 29, 2016 | public
Journal Article

Dual Influence of Reduction Annealing on Diffused Hematite/FTO Junction for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

Abstract

Band structure engineering of the interface between the semiconductor and the conductive substrate may profoundly influence charge separation and transport for photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical devices. In this work, we found that a reduction-annealing treatment resulted in a diffused junction through enhanced interdiffusion of hematite/FTO at the interface. The activated hematite exhibited higher nanoelectric conductivity that was probed by a PeakForce TUNA AFM method. Furthermore, charge accumulation and recombination via surface states at the interface were dramatically reduced after the reduction-annealing activation, which was confirmed by transient surface photovoltage measurements. The diffused hematite junction promises improved photoelectrochemical performance without the need for a buffer layer.

Additional Information

© 2016 American Chemical Society Received: April 8, 2016 Accepted: June 8, 2016 Published: June 8, 2016 We thank Prof. Dejun Wang from Jilin University for his help with the TSPV instrument. X.Y. and P.L. were supported by the grant from the Henan Province Office of Education (14B150013) and Henan Province of International Science & Technology Cooperation (134300510061). Z.Z. was supported by the grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21273192), Program for Innovative Research Team, University of Henan Province (2012IRTSTHN021) and Innovation Scientists and Technicians Troop Construction Projects of Henan Province (144200510014). R.L. is supported by the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, a DOE Energy Innovation Hub, supported through the Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, under Award Number DE-SC0004993. XPS studies were carried out at the Molecular Materials Research Center of the Beckman Institute of the California Institute of Technology. D.W. was supported by the National Science Foundation (DMR 1055762).

Additional details

Created:
August 20, 2023
Modified:
October 20, 2023