Thermal air oxidation of Fe: rapid hematite nanowire growth and photoelectrochemical water splitting performance

Abstract: Different iron oxide structures were formed by annealing of iron foils in air at temperatures between 500°C to 800°C. Depending on temperature, a significant variation in the hematite/magnetite ratio and a strongly temperature dependent morphology is obtained. While over a wide range of conditions more or less compact Fe3O4/Fe2O3 layers are obtained, at 600°C rapid growth (several micrometer per hour) of highly crystalline hematite nanowires can be observed. Visible light photocurrent measurements in 1M NaOH under AM 1.5 100mW/cm2 conditions show that photocurrent density and the onset potential for water oxidation strongly shifted in the cathodic direction for the nanowire morphology. The results indicate that a simple air oxidation of iron can provide a rapid path to form hematite nanowires. Obtained layers are considerably active as photoanodes for solar water splitting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]