Solution-processed electrochemical synthesis of ZnFe2O4 photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Doiphode, Vidya; Vairale, Priti; Sharma, Vidhika; Waghmare, Ashish; Punde, Ashvini; Shinde, Pratibha; Shah, Shruti; Pandharkar, Subhash; Hase, Yogesh; Aher, Rahul; Nair, Shruthi; Jadkar, Vijaya; Bade, Bharat; Prasad, Mohit; Rondiya, Sachin R.; Jadkar, Sandesh

doi:10.1007/s10008-021-04953-7

Cited by 14 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…The observed trends have also been reported in the literature for other compounds. [5,54] In all case, we have found a close agreement between the experimental and fitted data (solid black line) with an estimated standard deviation of the parameters less than 6%. As the elements which compose the electrical equivalent circuit (EEC) have a physical meaning, we can conclude that such EEC constitutes an appropriate and precise mode.…”

Section: Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Analysissupporting

confidence: 71%

“…[3] Since the first discovery of water splitting by using TiO 2 photo-anode by Fujshima and Honda, [4] several oxide semiconductors (such as ZnO, TiO, SrTiO, BaTiO 3 and SnO 2 ) were later used as photo-anodes in PEC cells thanks to their cheap cost, easy availability and long terms durability to achieve best performances. [5,6] ZnO was studied extensively as a suitable photo-anode owing to its high electron mobility, excellent optical properties, nontoxicity and electrochemical stability. [7,8] However, the large bandgap of ZnO limits the success.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Photoelectrochemical activity of ZnO:Ag/rGO photo-anodes synthesized by two-steps sol-gel method

Jemia¹,

Karyaoui²,

Wederni³

et al. 2022

Chinese Phys. B

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This work investigate the influence of Silver Plasmon and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) on the photoelectrochemical performance (PEC) of ZnO thin films synthesized by the sol-gel method. The physicochemical properties of the obtained photo-anodes were systematically studied using several characterization techniques. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that all samples presented hexagonal Wurtzite structure with apolycrystalline nature. Raman and EDX studies confirmed the existence of both Ag and rGO in ZnO: Ag/rGO thin films. The estimated grain size obtained from (SEM) analysis decreased with Ag doping, then increased to a maximum value after rGO addition. The UV-vis transmission spectra of the as-prepared ZnO: Ag and ZnO: Ag/rGO thin films have shown a reduction in the visible range with a redshift at the absorption edges. The bandgaps were estimated to be around 3.17, 2.7, and 2.52 eV for ZnO, ZnO: Ag, and ZnO: Ag/rGO, respectively. Moreover, the electrical measurements revealed that the charge exchange processes were enhanced at the ZnO: Ag/rGO/electrolyte interface, accompanied by an increase in the (PEC) performance compared to ZnO and ZnO: Ag photo-anodes. Consequently, the photocurrent density of ZnO: Ag/rGO (0.2 mA.cm-2) was around 4 and 2.22 times higher than photo-anodes based on undoped ZnO (0.05 mA.cm-2) and ZnO: Ag (0.09 mA.cm-2), respectively. Finally, from the flat band potential and donor density, deduced from the Mott-Schottky, it was clear that all the samples were n-type semiconductors with the highest carrier density for the ZnO: Ag/rGO photo-anode.

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Section: Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy Analysissupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photoelectrochemical activity of ZnO:Ag/rGO photo-anodes synthesized by two-steps sol-gel method

Jemia¹,

Karyaoui²,

Wederni³

et al. 2022

Chinese Phys. B

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“…The peak at approximately 710.3 eV corresponds to Fe 2p 3/2 , while the peak at around 724.10 eV corresponds to Fe 2p 1/2 . These peaks indicate that Fe is predominantly present in a Fe +3 [ 84 , 85 ]. The XPS peaks of Cu 2p revealed two prominent peaks at 932.02 eV and 952.02 eV, which are characteristic of reduced copper Cu 0 phase.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogenic Punica granatum Flower Extract Assisted ZnFe2O4 and ZnFe2O4-Cu Composites for Excellent Photocatalytic Degradation of RhB Dye

Alshehri,

Alharbi,

Wani

et al. 2024

Toxics

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Globally, the textile industry contributes to pollution through accidental discharges or discharge of contaminated wastewater into waterways, significantly affecting water quality. These pollutants, including dye molecules, are environmental hazards for aquatic and terrestrial life. The field of visible light-mediated photocatalysis has experienced rapid growth, driven by the utilization of photocatalysts that can absorb low-energy visible light and effectively degrade dyes. In the present study, we report a simple method to controllably synthesize Fe2O3, ZnO, and ZnFe2O4 using the one-pot synthesis method. In the subsequent step, copper (Cu) was deposited on the surface of ZnFe2O4 (forming ZnFe2O4-Cu) using a facile, green, and cost-effective method. The synthesized samples were characterized using various techniques, including XRD, UV-Vis DRS, FT-IR, SEM-EDX, HR-TEM, XPS, PL, and BET analysis. These techniques were employed to investigate the composition, morphology, structure, and photophysical properties of as-prepared samples. The ZnFe2O4-Cu nanocomposite demonstrated efficient photocatalytic activity for degrading RhB dye pollutants under visible light. The photocatalyst was successfully reused for three consecutive cycles without significantly decreasing performance. Furthermore, during the study, the radical scavenging test emphasized the role of different radicals in the degradation of dye pollutants. This research has the potential to enable the efficient production of high-performance photocatalysts that can rapidly eliminate ecologically harmful dyes from aqueous solutions.

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“…Spinel ferrites (MFe 2 O 4 , M = Zn, Ca, Mg, Cu) are ternary oxide compounds formed by trivalent iron and divalent metal ions that constitute tetrahedral and octahedral sites [17], which have recently gained increasing interest for PEC water splitting owing to their ideal bandgap (1.9-2.1 eV), excellent thermal and chemical stability, and abundance [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. In particular, zinc ferrite (ZnFe 2 O 4 , ZFO) is the most investigated photoanode material [27,28] because of its suitable valence band edge position and high theoretical STH efficiency (~21%), which is substantially higher than the values predicted for Fe 2 O 3 (~15%), BiVO 4 (~9%), WO 3 (~6%), and TiO 2 (~2%). However, ZFO has several intrinsic limitations [29][30][31]: (1) small light absorption coefficients, (2) short minority carrier diffusion length, (3) poor electron mobility owing to the hopping mechanism of localized d-electrons in FeO 6 octahedra, and (4) slow surface reaction kinetics.…”

Section: Introduction mentioning

confidence: 99%

Defect-rich spinel ferrites with improved charge collection properties for efficient solar water splitting

Tan¹,

Jeong²,

Li³

et al. 2023

Journal of Advanced Ceramics

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Spinel zinc ferrite (ZnFe 2 O 4 , ZFO) is a potential photoanode material for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting because of its ideal bandgap (1.9-2.1 eV) and superior chemical stability in aqueous solutions. However, the low charge collection efficiency significantly hinders the improvement in PEC activity. Herein, we report an ultrafast and effective flame activation route to enhance the charge collection properties of ZFO. First, high-temperature flame (> 1300 ℃) facilitated surface and grain boundary diffusions, increasing the grain size and connectivity of the ZFO nanoparticles. Second, the reducing atmosphere of the flame enabled the formation of surface defects (oxygen vacancy and Fe 2+ ), thereby increasing the charge carrier density and surface adsorption sites. Significantly, these two factors promoted charge transport and transfer kinetics, resulting in a 10-fold increase in the photocurrent density over the unactivated ZFO. Furthermore, we deposited a thin Al 2 O 3 overlayer to passivate the ZFO surface and then the NiFeO x oxygen evolution catalyst (OEC) to expedite hole injection into the electrolyte. This surface passivation and OEC deposition led to a remarkable photocurrent density of ~1 mA/cm 2 at 1.23 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode, which is the highest value among all reported ZFO photoanodes. Notably, the NiFeO x /Al 2 O 3 /F-ZFO photoanode achieved excellent photocurrent stability over 55 h (96% retention) and superior faradaic efficiency (FE > 94%). Our flame activation method is also effective in improving the photocurrent densities of other spinel ferrites: CuFe 2 O 4 (93 times), MgFe 2 O 4 (16 times), and NiFe 2 O 4 (12 times).

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Solution-processed electrochemical synthesis of ZnFe2O4 photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Cited by 14 publications

References 53 publications

Photoelectrochemical activity of ZnO:Ag/rGO photo-anodes synthesized by two-steps sol-gel method

Photoelectrochemical activity of ZnO:Ag/rGO photo-anodes synthesized by two-steps sol-gel method

Biogenic Punica granatum Flower Extract Assisted ZnFe2O4 and ZnFe2O4-Cu Composites for Excellent Photocatalytic Degradation of RhB Dye

Defect-rich spinel ferrites with improved charge collection properties for efficient solar water splitting

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