Photoelectrochemical performance of α-Fe2O3@NiOOH fabricated with facile photo-assisted electrodeposition method

Abstract This study adopted a photo-assisted electrodeposition method to fabricate NiOOH on α-Fe2O3 photoanode. The detailed microstructure and chemical composition characterizations suggested that the NiOOH particles were selectively deposited on the α-Fe2O3 surface to form hybrid nanocomposites. Photoelectrochemical measurements revealed the important role of NiOOH as a cocatalyst for water splitting under visible light illumination. The prepared photoanode exhibited essentially enhanced photoelectrochemical activity, which was about fourfold higher than that of α-Fe2O3 photoanode. Further study suggested that loading NiOOH by photo-assisted electrodeposition method on α-Fe2O3 surface can facilitate the water splitting process by providing substantial active reaction sites and promoting the transfer and consumption of photogenerated holes. Contribution of this work is to supply a facile method to develop efficient photoelectrochemical anode.