Structural and enhanced photoelectrochemical cell properties of α-hematite -molybdenum disulfide and polyhexylthiophene nanodiamond based nanocomposite prepared by sol-gel method

Abstract The α-Fe2O3-MoS2 nanocomposite materials were synthesized using sol-gel technique and investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FTIR, X-ray diffraction, UV-vis and Raman analyses. In this study, we used the conducting polymer electrode named polyhexylthiophene (RRPHTh) with nanodiamond (ND) nanomaterials abbreviated as “RRPHTh+ND”. The photocurrent, “electrode” & the “electrolyte” interface of “α-Fe2O3-MoS2” and “RRPHTh+ND” nanocomposite films were studied using the electrochemical method. The developed MoS2-α-Fe2O-RRPHTh+ND nanocomposite films showed ∼3 times higher current-density and energy conversion efficiency as compared to the parent “electrode” in an electrolyte of 1M of NaOH in “photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell”. Furthermore, improved hydrogen release was observed for the Fe2O3-MoS2 and “RRPHTh+ND” nanomaterials-based electrodes when compared to aluminum doped Fe2O3, Fe2O3, and MoS2 doped-Fe2O3 films.