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Ultrasmall Co 3 O 4 Nanocrystals Strongly Enhance Solar Water Splitting on Mesoporous Hematite
Author(s) -
Feckl Johann M.,
Dunn Halina K.,
Zehetmaier Peter M.,
Müller Alexander,
Pendlebury Stephanie R.,
Zeller Patrick,
Fominykh Ksenia,
Kondofersky Ilina,
Döblinger Markus,
Durrant James R.,
Scheu Christina,
Peter Laurence,
FattakhovaRohlfing Dina,
Bein Thomas
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
advanced materials interfaces
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.671
H-Index - 65
ISSN - 2196-7350
DOI - 10.1002/admi.201500358
Subject(s) - hematite , materials science , mesoporous material , photocurrent , nanocrystal , nanoparticle , chemical engineering , cobalt , water splitting , oxide , magnetite , cobalt oxide , nanotechnology , photocatalysis , optoelectronics , catalysis , biochemistry , chemistry , engineering , metallurgy
The synthesis of crystalline, nonagglomerated, and perfectly dispersible Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles with an average size of 3–7 nm using a solvothermal reaction in tert ‐butanol is reported. The very small size and high dispersibility of the Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles allow for their homogeneous deposition on mesoporous hematite layers serving as the photoactive absorber in the light‐driven water splitting reaction. This surface treatment leads to a striking photocurrent increase. While the enhancement of hematite photoanode performance by cobalt oxides is known, the preformation and subsequent application of well‐defined cobalt oxide nanoparticles are novel and allow for the treatment of arbitrarily complex hematite morphologies. Photoelectrochemical and transient absorption spectroscopy studies show that this enhanced performance is due to the suppression of surface electron–hole recombination on time scales of milliseconds to seconds.