A Facile Surface Passivation of Hematite Photoanodes with Molybdate Overlayers for Efficient PEC Water Oxidation

alpha-Fe2O3 thin films have been synthesized and used as photoanodes for photo-electrochemical (PEC) water oxidation. Molybdate was introduced to mediate hematite thin films via two synthesis routes (namely in situ mediation and ex situ modification). Through the in situ mediation process, the morphology and film thickness could be changed significantly due to the addition of MoO42-, while for the ex situ modification, the PEC performance of the hematite has been greatly improved without changing the nanorod morphology. Various characterizations such as UV-Vis absorption, transmission electronic microscopy, scanning electronic microscopy, Mott-Schottky, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were conducted and the PEC performances were investigated.