Ti-doped hematite thin films for efficient water splitting

Uniform Ti-doped hematite thin films were deposited on transparent fluorine-doped tin oxide FTO coated glasses using a pulsed laser deposition method. An influence of dopant concentration on the photoelectrochemical characteristics was examined under water splitting. Photocurrent measurements indicated that 3 mol% of Ti atoms was optimal dopant concentration in hematite films produced by this method. The maximum photocurrent density of un-doped and 3 mol% Ti-doped Fe2O3 photoelectrodes was 0.67 and 1.64 mA/cm2 at 1.23 V versus RHE, respectively. The incorporation of Ti atoms into hematite photoelectrodes was found to drastically enhance the water splitting performance.