RGO-α-Fe2O3/β-FeOOH ternary heterostructure with urchin-like morphology for efficient oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract RGO-α-Fe 2 O 3 /β-FeOOH ternary heterostructure composite has been developed as an active photocatalyst for photoelectrochemical water splitting. RGO-α-Fe 2 O 3 /β-FeOOH has been successfully synthesized through one-pot hydrothermal-ionic liquid assisted route using tetrabutyl ammonium L-methioninate [TBA][L-Met] and graphene oxide (GO). The electrochemical studies were carried out to demonstrate the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and photocatalytic activities. The overpotential reduction by rGO-α-Fe 2 O 3 /β-FeOOH sample was higher than the nanobean α-Fe 2 O 3 /β-FeOOH and pristine α-Fe 2 O 3 samples. The photocurrent density enhanced for rGO-α-Fe 2 O 3 /β–FeOOH urchin-like structure and obtained as 0.62 mA·cm −2 . The data evidences the idea that the β–FeOOH layer in the modified morphology acts as an electron donor and the donor density increased substantially. Results from this study indicate that the rGO-α-Fe 2 O 3 /β-FeOOH can improve OER performance significantly with a peak shift of 0.13 V in the potential window, revealing its excellent potential as a higher rate and lower energy needed candidate.