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Enhancing the Water Splitting Efficiency of Sn‐Doped Hematite Nanoflakes by Flame Annealing
Author(s) -
Wang Lei,
Lee ChongYong,
Mazare Anca,
Lee Kiyoung,
Müller Julian,
Spiecker Erdmann,
Schmuki Patrik
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201303427
Subject(s) - photocurrent , annealing (glass) , hematite , materials science , doping , nanoscopic scale , water splitting , chemical engineering , optoelectronics , analytical chemistry (journal) , nanotechnology , metallurgy , chemistry , photocatalysis , chromatography , engineering , catalysis , biochemistry
The effect of flame annealing on the water‐splitting properties of Sn decorated hematite (α‐Fe 2 O 3 ) nanoflakes has been investigated. It is shown that flame annealing can yield a considerable enhancement in the maximum photocurrent under AM 1.5 (100 mW cm −2 ) conditions compared to classic furnace annealing treatments. Optimizing the annealing time (10 s at 1000 °C) leads to a photocurrent of 1.1 mA cm −2 at 1.23 V (vs. RHE) with a maximum value 1.6 mA cm −2 at 1.6 V (vs. RHE) in 1 M KOH. The improvement in photocurrent can be attributed to the fast direct heating that maintains the nanoscale morphology, leads to optimized Sn decoration, and minimizes detrimental substrate effects.