Heterojunction α-Fe2 O3 /ZnO Films with Enhanced Photocatalytic Properties Grown by Aerosol-Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition.
Arreerat JiamprasertboonAndreas KafizasMichael SachsMin LingAbdullah M AlotaibiYao LuTheeranun SiritanonIvan P ParkinClaire J CarmaltPublished in: Chemistry (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) (2019)
Type I heterojunction films of α-Fe2 O3 /ZnO are reported here as a non-titania based photocatalyst, which shows remarkable enhancement in the photocatalytic properties towards stearic acid degradation under UVA-light exposure (λ=365 nm), with a quantum efficiency of ξ=4.42±1.54×10-4 molecules degraded/photon, which was about 16 times greater than that of α-Fe2 O3 , and 2.5 times greater than that of ZnO. Considering that the degradation of stearic acid requires 104 electron transfers for each molecule, this represents an overall quantum efficiency of 4.60 % for the α-Fe2 O3 /ZnO heterojunction. Time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) revealed the charge-carrier behaviour responsible for this increase in activity. Photogenerated electrons, formed in the ZnO layer, were transferred into the α-Fe2 O3 layer on the pre-μs timescale, which reduced electron-hole recombination. This increased the lifetime of photogenerated holes formed in ZnO, which oxidise stearic acid. The heterojunction α-Fe2 O3 /ZnO films grown herein show potential environmental applications as coatings for self-cleaning windows and surfaces.
Keyphrases
- visible light
- room temperature
- solar cells
- reduced graphene oxide
- quantum dots
- molecular dynamics
- ionic liquid
- escherichia coli
- photodynamic therapy
- cystic fibrosis
- single molecule
- human health
- climate change
- dna damage
- dna repair
- staphylococcus aureus
- biofilm formation
- oxidative stress
- cerebral ischemia
- life cycle
- solid state