title: Fabrication of CuFe2O4/α-Fe2O3Composite Thin Films on FTO Coated Glass and 3-D Nanospike Structures for Efficient Photoelectrochemical Water Splitting.
abstract: Recently, photoelectrochemical conversion (PEC) of water into fuel is attracting great attention of researchers due to its outstanding benefits. Herein, a systematic study on PEC of water using CuFe2O4/ α-Fe2O3composite thin films is presented. CuFe2O4/ α-Fe2O3composite thin films were deposited on two different substrates; (1) planner FTO glass and (2) 3-dimensional nanospike (NSP). The films on both substrates were characterized and tested as anode material for photoelectrochemical water splitting reaction. During PEC studies, it was observed that the ratio between two components of composite is crucial and highest PEC activity results were achieved by 1:1 component ratio (CF-1) of CuFe2O4and α-Fe2O3. The CF-1 ratio sample deposited on planar FTO substrate provided a photocurrent density of 1.22 mA/cm2at 1.23 VRHEwhich is 1.9 times higher than bare α-Fe2O3sample. A significant PEC activity outperformance was observed when CF-1 ratio composite thin films were deposited on 3D NSP. The highest photocurrent density of 2.26 mA/cm2at 1.23 VRHEwas achieved for 3D NSP sample which is around 3.6 times higher than photocurrent density generated by α-Fe2O3thin film only. The higher photocurrent densities of 3D nanostructured devices compared to planar one are attributed to the enhanced light trapping and increased surface area for photoelectrochemical water oxidation on the surface. The difference between valence and conduction bands of CuFe2O4and α-Fe2O3allows better separation of photogenerated electrons and holes at the CuFe2O4/ α-Fe2O3interface which makes it more active for photoelectrochemical water splitting.
authors.affiliation: Catalysis and Nanomaterials Lab 27, Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University , Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Shabeeb
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.affiliation: Catalysis and Nanomaterials Lab 27, Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University , Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Shazia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hussain
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Aashir
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6929-8373
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Waleed
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sharif University of Technology , Azadi Street, Tehran 3716695349, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Mahdi
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Tavakoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Zilong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Shihe
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology , Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Catalysis and Nanomaterials Lab 27, Department of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University , Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Arif
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0738-9349
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nadeem
keywords: copper ferrite; hematite; nanospikes; ultrasonic spray pyrolysis; water splitting