TY - JOUR
T1 - Characteristics of crystalline sputtered LaFeO3 thin films as photoelectrochemical water splitting photocathodes
AU - Son, Min Kyu
AU - Seo, Hyunwoong
AU - Watanabe, Motonori
AU - Shiratani, Masaharu
AU - Ishihara, Tatsumi
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI), MEXT, Japan and this project was supported by JSPS and National Research Foundation of Korea under the Japan-Korea Basic Scientific Cooperation Program (JPJSBP120198822). This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (NRF-2020R1C1C1008073).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
PY - 2020/5/7
Y1 - 2020/5/7
N2 - Stable photoelectrochemical (PEC) operation is a critical issue for the commercialization of PEC water-splitting systems. Unfortunately, most semiconductor photocathodes generating hydrogen in these systems are unstable in aqueous solutions. This is a huge limitation for the development of durable PEC water-splitting systems. Lanthanum iron oxide (LaFeO3) is a promising p-type semiconductor to overcome this drawback because of its stability in an aqueous solution and its proper energy level for reducing water. In this study, we fabricated a crystalline LaFeO3 thin film by radio frequency magnetron sputtering deposition and a post-annealing process in air for use as a PEC photocathode. Based on the morphological, compositional, optical and electronic characterizations, we found that it was ideal for a visible light-responsive PEC photocathode and tandem PEC water-splitting system with a small band gap absorber behind it. Furthermore, it showed stable PEC performance in a strong alkaline solution during PEC operation without any protection layers. Therefore, the crystalline sputtered LaFeO3 thin film suggested in this study would be feasible to apply as a PEC photocathode for durable, simple and low-cost PEC water splitting.
AB - Stable photoelectrochemical (PEC) operation is a critical issue for the commercialization of PEC water-splitting systems. Unfortunately, most semiconductor photocathodes generating hydrogen in these systems are unstable in aqueous solutions. This is a huge limitation for the development of durable PEC water-splitting systems. Lanthanum iron oxide (LaFeO3) is a promising p-type semiconductor to overcome this drawback because of its stability in an aqueous solution and its proper energy level for reducing water. In this study, we fabricated a crystalline LaFeO3 thin film by radio frequency magnetron sputtering deposition and a post-annealing process in air for use as a PEC photocathode. Based on the morphological, compositional, optical and electronic characterizations, we found that it was ideal for a visible light-responsive PEC photocathode and tandem PEC water-splitting system with a small band gap absorber behind it. Furthermore, it showed stable PEC performance in a strong alkaline solution during PEC operation without any protection layers. Therefore, the crystalline sputtered LaFeO3 thin film suggested in this study would be feasible to apply as a PEC photocathode for durable, simple and low-cost PEC water splitting.
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U2 - 10.1039/d0nr01762k
DO - 10.1039/d0nr01762k
M3 - Article
C2 - 32319489
AN - SCOPUS:85084721330
VL - 12
SP - 9653
EP - 9660
JO - Nanoscale
JF - Nanoscale
SN - 2040-3364
IS - 17
ER -