The photoactivity of n-type nanostructured hematite is limited by its poor absorptivity and a limited carrier diffusion length. Plasmonic metal nanostructures of Au, Ag, and Cu are known to concentrate and scatter broad range wavelengths of incident light and hold the promise on enhancing the light absorption cross-section of a semiconducting material. We present photoelectrochemical (PEC) characteristics of a smooth hematite photocatalytic layer embedded with Au nanoparticles (NPs). The plasmonic enhancement increases with the amount of Au NPs considering the same thickness of hematite. Thickness dependent plasmonic activity studies indicate that a maximum enhancement in 107nm hematite films as compared 630nm hematite films where the plasmonic activity of Au NPs is least shielded.

Enhanced photocatalytic activities of chemical vapor deposited hematite films for solar water splitting by Au NPs in embedded configuration

249th National Meeting (2015)

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