A photoelectrochemical (PEC) study on graphene oxide based hematite thin films heterojunction (R-GO/Fe$_2$O$_3)$

Graphene has an excellent electronic conductivity, a high theoretical surface area of 2630 m$^2$/g and excellent mechanical properties and, thus, is a promising component for high-performance electrode materials. Following this, GO has been used to modify the PEC response of photoactive material hematite thin films in PEC cell. A reduced graphene oxide/iron oxide (R-GO/Fe$_2$O$_3)$ thin film structure has been successfully prepared on ITO by directly growing iron oxide particles on the thermally reduced graphene oxide sheets prepared from suspension of exfoliated graphene oxide. R-GO/Fe$_2$O$_3$ thin films were tested in PEC cell and offered ten times higher photocurrent density than pristine Fe$_2$O$_3$ thin film sample. XRD, SEM, EDS, UV-Vis, Mott-Schottky and Raman studies were carried out to study spectro-electrochemical properties. Enhanced PEC performance of these photoelectrodes was attributed to its porous morphology, improved conductivity upon favorable carrier transfer across the oxides interface.