Muhammad Ibadurrohman, Afaf Qurrotu Ainin, Fakhri Zinul Alam, Nadia Mumtazah, Slamet, Alfian Ferdiansyah Madsuha, Reza Miftahul Ulum and Bonavian Hasiholan
{"title":"Modification of hydrothermally synthesized α-Fe2O3 nanorods with g-C3N4 prepared from various precursors as photoanodes for hydrogen production†","authors":"Muhammad Ibadurrohman, Afaf Qurrotu Ainin, Fakhri Zinul Alam, Nadia Mumtazah, Slamet, Alfian Ferdiansyah Madsuha, Reza Miftahul Ulum and Bonavian Hasiholan","doi":"10.1039/D3NJ05421G","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p >This report addresses the synthesis, characterisation, and photoelectrochemical performances of α-Fe<small><sub>2</sub></small>O<small><sub>3</sub></small> nanorods decorated with g-C<small><sub>3</sub></small>N<small><sub>4</sub></small>. Photoanode composites were fabricated in a two-step procedure in which fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass was coated with α-Fe<small><sub>2</sub></small>O<small><sub>3</sub></small> nanorods <em>via</em> a hydrothermal method, followed by incorporation of g-C<small><sub>3</sub></small>N<small><sub>4</sub></small><em>via</em> a wet-impregnation method. In particular, the study investigates the effects of precursors of g-C<small><sub>3</sub></small>N<small><sub>4</sub></small> (urea, dicyandiamide, and melamine) on the photoelectrochemical properties of the prepared α-Fe<small><sub>2</sub></small>O<small><sub>3</sub></small>/g-C<small><sub>3</sub></small>N<small><sub>4</sub></small> films. The films were thoroughly analysed by means of X-ray diffractometry (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectrometry. The highest photoelectrochemical output of the nanorod composite films was achieved with the use of g-C<small><sub>3</sub></small>N<small><sub>4</sub></small> synthesized from urea, generating 15.3 μA cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small> of photocurrent density as a result of better charge transfer driven by the formation of a semiconductor heterojunction. This is a staggering 12-fold improvement compared to the unmodified hematite nanorods which managed to only produce 1.2 μA cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small> of photocurrent density. The merits of g-C<small><sub>3</sub></small>N<small><sub>4</sub></small> prepared from urea as the best semiconductor couple for α-Fe<small><sub>2</sub></small>O<small><sub>3</sub></small> are driven by its unique crystallinity and morphology with significantly larger surface area than g-C<small><sub>3</sub></small>N<small><sub>4</sub></small> prepared from other precursors. The addition of glycerol as a sacrificial agent further improves the photocurrent to <em>ca.</em> 24 μA cm<small><sup>−2</sup></small>. The findings in this study show the potential of α-Fe<small><sub>2</sub></small>O<small><sub>3</sub></small>/g-C<small><sub>3</sub></small>N<small><sub>4</sub></small> composites for sustainable photoelectrochemical hydrogen production.</p>","PeriodicalId":95,"journal":{"name":"New Journal of Chemistry","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"New Journal of Chemistry","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2024/nj/d3nj05421g","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This report addresses the synthesis, characterisation, and photoelectrochemical performances of α-Fe2O3 nanorods decorated with g-C3N4. Photoanode composites were fabricated in a two-step procedure in which fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass was coated with α-Fe2O3 nanorods via a hydrothermal method, followed by incorporation of g-C3N4via a wet-impregnation method. In particular, the study investigates the effects of precursors of g-C3N4 (urea, dicyandiamide, and melamine) on the photoelectrochemical properties of the prepared α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 films. The films were thoroughly analysed by means of X-ray diffractometry (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectrometry. The highest photoelectrochemical output of the nanorod composite films was achieved with the use of g-C3N4 synthesized from urea, generating 15.3 μA cm−2 of photocurrent density as a result of better charge transfer driven by the formation of a semiconductor heterojunction. This is a staggering 12-fold improvement compared to the unmodified hematite nanorods which managed to only produce 1.2 μA cm−2 of photocurrent density. The merits of g-C3N4 prepared from urea as the best semiconductor couple for α-Fe2O3 are driven by its unique crystallinity and morphology with significantly larger surface area than g-C3N4 prepared from other precursors. The addition of glycerol as a sacrificial agent further improves the photocurrent to ca. 24 μA cm−2. The findings in this study show the potential of α-Fe2O3/g-C3N4 composites for sustainable photoelectrochemical hydrogen production.