Nanostructured Indium-Doped Iron Oxide

摘要

The present invention generally relates to materials that may be used to construct photoelectrodes. It more specifically relates to nanostructured indium-doped iron oxide materials that may be used as photoanodes in photoelectrochemical cells which catalyze the splitting of water into its component gasses using sunlight as the energy source. In a composition aspect, the present invention provides an indium-doped iron oxide film. The film ranges in thickness from 20 nm to 200 nm, and has less than 10% indium by weight, less than 10% Fe₂O₃ and In₂O₃ by weight and less than 10% indium ferrate by weight. There are at least 10 disc-like structures on the film surface within a 0.25 μm² area, and the disc-like structures are roughly spherical in shape with a ratio of long dimension to short being at least 2:1. The radius of the disc-like structures ranges from 0.25 nm to 6 nm, and the disc-like structures are oriented at an angle between 20° and 160° relative to the film surface plane.