title: Atomic layer deposition of a submonolayer catalyst for the enhanced photoelectrochemical performance of water oxidation with hematite.
abstract: Hematite photoanodes were coated with an ultrathin cobalt oxide layer by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The optimal coating-1 ALD cycle, which amounts to <1 monolayer of Co(OH)2/Co3O4-resulted in significantly enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation performance. A stable, 100-200 mV cathodic shift in the photocurrent onset potential was observed that is correlated to an order of magnitude reduction in the resistance to charge transfer at the Fe2O3/H2O interface. Furthermore, the optical transparency of the ultrathin Co(OH)2/Co3O4 coating establishes it as a particularly advantageous treatment for nanostructured water oxidation photoanodes. The photocurrent of catalyst-coated nanostructured inverse opal scaffold hematite photoanodes reached 0.81 and 2.1 mA/cm(2) at 1.23 and 1.53 V, respectively.
authors: Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States.
authors: Shannon C
authors: SC
authors: Riha
authors: Benjamin M
authors: BM
authors: Klahr
authors: Eric C
authors: EC
authors: Tyo
authors: Sönke
authors: S
authors: Seifert
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Vajda
authors: Michael J
authors: MJ
authors: Pellin
authors: Thomas W
authors: TW
authors: Hamann
authors: Alex B F
authors: AB
authors: Martinson