Cerium-Doped Iron Oxide Nanorod Arrays for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Hai-Peng Zhao; Mei-Ling Zhu; Hao-Yan Shi; Qian-Qian Zhou; Rui Chen; Shi-Wei Lin; Mei-Hong Tong; Ming-Hao Ji; Xia Jiang; Chen-Xing Liao; Yan-Xin Chen; Can-Zhong Lu

doi:10.3390/molecules27249050

Molecules (Dec 2022)

Cerium-Doped Iron Oxide Nanorod Arrays for Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting

Hai-Peng Zhao,
Mei-Ling Zhu,
Hao-Yan Shi,
Qian-Qian Zhou,
Rui Chen,
Shi-Wei Lin,
Mei-Hong Tong,
Ming-Hao Ji,
Xia Jiang,
Chen-Xing Liao,
Yan-Xin Chen,
Can-Zhong Lu

Affiliations

Hai-Peng Zhao: School of Rare Earth, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou 341000, China
Mei-Ling Zhu: CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Hao-Yan Shi: CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Qian-Qian Zhou: CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Rui Chen: CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Shi-Wei Lin: CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Mei-Hong Tong: CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Ming-Hao Ji: CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Xia Jiang: CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Chen-Xing Liao: School of Rare Earth, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou 341000, China
Yan-Xin Chen: CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
Can-Zhong Lu: CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27249050
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 27, no. 24
p. 9050

Abstract

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In this work, a simple one-step hydrothermal method was employed to prepare the Ce-doped Fe2O3 ordered nanorod arrays (CFT). The Ce doping successfully narrowed the band gap of Fe2O3, which improved the visible light absorption performance. In addition, with the help of Ce doping, the recombination of electron/hole pairs was significantly inhibited. The external voltage will make the performance of the Ce-doped sample better. Therefore, the Ce-doped Fe2O3 has reached superior photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance with a high photocurrent density of 1.47 mA/cm2 at 1.6 V vs. RHE (Reversible Hydrogen Electrode), which is 7.3 times higher than that of pristine Fe2O3 nanorod arrays (FT). The Hydrogen (H2) production from PEC water splitting of Fe2O3 was highly improved by Ce doping to achieve an evolution rate of 21 μmol/cm2/h.

Published in Molecules

ISSN: 1420-3049 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Chemistry: Organic chemistry
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules

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