Epitaxial ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin films for unassisted photocatalytic water splitting

Considering energy band alignment and polarization effect, ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin films are proposed as the photoanode in a monolithic cell to achieve unassisted photocatalytic water splitting. Significant anodic photocurrent was observed in our epitaxial ferroelectric BiFeO3 films prepared from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2013-08, Vol.103 (6)
Main Authors: Ji, Wei, Yao, Kui, Lim, Yee-Fun, Liang, Yung C., Suwardi, Ady
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Considering energy band alignment and polarization effect, ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin films are proposed as the photoanode in a monolithic cell to achieve unassisted photocatalytic water splitting. Significant anodic photocurrent was observed in our epitaxial ferroelectric BiFeO3 films prepared from sputter deposition. Both negative polarization charges and thinner films were found to promote the anodic photocatalytic reaction. Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy proved that the conduction and valence band edges of BiFeO3 straddle the water redox levels. Theoretical analyses show that the large switchable polarization can modify the surface properties to promote the hydrogen and oxygen evolutions on the surfaces with positive and negative polarization charges, respectively.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4817907