Influence of temperature on the photocatalytic properties of nanostructured films of Fe2O3

• Grant number: 11/19390-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2011
• End date: December 31, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Flavio Leandro de Souza
• Grantee: Lucas Costa de Castro Ferraz
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Iron oxide used as photoanodes in photoelectrochemical cells (PECs) to generate hydrogen has been intensively studied in the last years. Thus, a significant number of research groups have been chasing new strategies to obtain nanostructures of different morphologies in order to acquire more efficient photoelectrochemical devices. In this research project, vertically aligned iron oxide nanorods onto transparent conductive glass substrates will be prepared by the hydrothermal method originally known as Purpose Built Material (PBM), recently modified by our group with great success. The main focus of this work will study the influence of time and temperature on the thermal treatment process of developed nanostructures in order to reach their adequate phase and functional properties. Nanostructured film submitted at different times and temperatures of heat treatment will be accompanied by analyzing their structural, morphological, and electrochemical properties. Besides, the applications of those films on PECs will be done. In recent studies, our group found out that annealing films with a temperature of 390° for 1 hour were not sufficient to reach the pure hematite phase (± -Fe2O3). It is well known in the literature that this material has catalytic properties. Therefore, these studies will be of fundamental importance and relevance in our project of optimization and reaching better efficiency results for photoelectrochemical cells.(AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FERRAZ, LUCAS C. C.; CARVALHO, JR., WALDEMIR M.; CRIADO, DENISE; SOUZA, FLAVIO L.. Vertically Oriented Iron Oxide Films Produced by Hydrothermal Process: Effect of Thermal Treatment on the Physical Chemical Properties. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES, v. 4, n. 10, p. 5515-5523, OCT 2012. (11/19390-8, 10/02464-6)