Decorating Pt nanoparticles on oxygen vacancies incorporated hematite photoanode for enhanced water oxidation

Pt-treatment and oxygen vacancies incorporation as effective strategies had been extensively used to improve the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting performance of hematite. Herein, by coupling Pt-decoration and oxygen vacancies incorporation through a facile solution route, an efficient hematite photoanode for PEC water splitting was fabricated. PEC measurements indicated that the photocurrent density was increased from 0.80 mA/cm² at 1.23 V versus RHE for the pristine Fe₂O₃ film to 1.15 mA/cm² at 1.23 V versus RHE for the co-modified sample. Based on various characterizations, this improvement could be attributed to the cumulative effect of Pt-decoration and oxygen vacancies incorporation, in which the incorporation of oxygen vacancies could increase the donor density and consequently promote the charge transport in the bulk hematite, while the excellent electrical conductivity of Pt was beneficial for facilitating the charge transfer across hematite/electrolyte interface. This study provides a feasible approach for the development of high-performance hematite photoanodes.