Influence of mesoporosity in hematite films on water splitting efficiency

Solar energy is inexhaustible but variable during the day and the seasons. Photoelectrolysis of water (water splitting) convert this energy into hydrogen to obtain an energy that can be stored and transported on demand.
Hematite is a promising material for the photoanode in water splitting because of its high stability in water, cheapness, abundance and its band gap that enables the absorption of visible light (Eg: 2,1eV). Nevertheless, hematite has also some drawbacks including a short diffusion length of holes and a bad electronic conductivity.
We have implemented spin coating and templating to produce doped mesoporous hematite films. The nanostructuration can improve the performances in water splitting by reducing the diffusion length of holes and increasing the specific surface between the film and the electrolyte. To suppress the collapse of the mesoporosity at high temperature (requested for dopant activation), we have used a temporary silica confinement scaffold that reduces the crystallite growth. To show the impact of the nanostructure, we have compared three films (mesoporous, collapsed and dense) in terms of hematite content (elemental analysis), nanostructure (electron microscopy), crystallinity (X-ray diffraction) and water splitting efficiency. We have also test two thermal treatments. This study highlights the effect of the effective interface with the electrolyte, through the preservation or not of open porosity and the different evolutions of the nanostructures as a function of the heat treatment.