Malaysian Journal of Analytical Sciences Vol 20 No 4 (2016): 892 - 900

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/mjas-2016-2004-25

 

 

 

TiO₂ DOPED WITH Fe₂O₃ FOR PHOTOELECTROCHEMICAL WATER SPLITTING ELECTRODE: EXPERIMENTAL AND DENSITY FUNCTIONAL THEORY STUDY

 

(TiO₂ Di Dop Bersama Fe₂O₃ untuk Elektrod Pembelahan Molekul Air Secara Fotoelektrokimia: Eksperimen dan Kajian Teori Fungsi Ketumpatan)

 

Khuzaimah Arifin^1*, Hasmida Abdul Kadir^1,3, Lorna Jeffery Minggu¹, Wan Ramli Wan Daud^1,2 ,

Mohammad B. Kassim^1,3

 

¹Fuel Cell Institute

²Department of Chemical and Process Engineering

³School of Chemical Sciences and Food Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

 

*Corresponding author: khuzaim@ukm.edu.my

 

 

Received: 5 February 2016; Accepted: 22 April 2016

 

 

Abstract

Various modifications of the titanium dioxide thin films have been done in fulfilling the photoelectrode requirements for photoelectrochemical water splitting reaction. In this study, surface passivation of TiO₂ by hematite-Fe₂O₃ was reported. Electrodeposition technique was used to deposit the Fe₂O₃ onto the TiO₂/FTO film with variation of time. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and UV-Vis spectroscopic analyses were used to characterize the electrode. Plane-wave-based pseudopotential density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to analyze the electronic structure and charge potential at the surface of the electrode. The photocurrent measurement showed that current density of TiO₂/Fe₂O₃ electrode was higher than the TiO₂/FTO under the same illumination intensity of 100 mWcm^-2. The highest current density was produced by 5 minutes electrodeposition of Fe₂O₃, which also shifted the absorption to visible region at the threshold wavelength of 518 nm.

 

Keywords :  titanium dioxide, iron(III) oxide, passivation layer, band gap

 

Abstrak

Pelbagai pengubahsuaian titanium dioksida filem nipis telah dilakukan untuk memenuhi keperluan fotoelektrod bagi tindak balas fotoelektrokimia pembelahan molekul air. Dalam kajian ini, dilaporkan pempasifan permukaan TiO₂ dengan bijih besi-Fe₂O₃. Teknik pengelektroenapan digunakan untuk mendepositkan Fe₂O₃ ke TiO₂/FTO filem dengan pelbagai  masa pengelektroenapan. Analisis XRD, SEM dan UV-Vis spektroskopi telah digunakan untuk mencirikan elektrod. pengiraan teori fungsi ketumpatan (DFT) berasaskan planar gelombang pseudopotential telah digunakan untuk menganalisis struktur elektronik dan potensi caj di permukaan elektrod. Pengukuran arusfoto menunjukkan bahawa ketumpatan arus TiO₂/Fe₂O₃ elektrod adalah lebih tinggi daripada  TiO₂/FTO bawah  keamatan  pencahayaan  yang sama, 100 mWcm^-2.  Ketumpatan  semasa  tertinggi  dihasilkan  oleh 5 minit pengelektroenapan Fe₂O₃, yang mana penyerapan beralih ke kawasan yang boleh dilihat pada panjang gelombang ambang 518 nm.

 

Kata kunci:  titanium dioksida, ferum (III) oksida, lapisan pasif, sela jalur

 

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