The Influence of Electrode Thickness on the Structure and Water Splitting Performance of Iridium Oxide Nanostructured Films

Abstract

For a safe environment, humanity should be oriented towards renewable energy technology. Water splitting (WS), utilizing a photoelectrode with suitable thickness, morphology, and conductivity, is essential for efficient hydrogen production. In this report, iridium oxide (IrOx) films of high conductivity were spin-cast on glass substrates. FE-SEM showed that the films are of nanorod morphology and different thicknesses. UV-Vis spectra indicated that the absorption and reflectance of the films depend on their thickness. The optical band gap (Eg) was increased from 2.925 eV to 3.07 eV by varying the spin speed (SS) of the substrates in a range of 1.5 × 103–4.5 × 103 rpm. It was clear from the micro-Raman spectra that the films were amorphous. The Eg vibrational mode of Ir–O stretching was red-shifted from 563 cm−1 (for the rutile IrO2 single crystal) to 553 cm−1. The IrOx films were used to develop photoelectrochemical (PEC) hydrogen production catalysts in 0.5M of sodium sulfite heptahydrate Na2SO3·7H2O (2-electrode system), which exhibits higher hydrogen evaluation (HE) reaction activity, which is proportional to the thickness and absorbance of the used IrOx photocathode, as it showed an incident photon-to-current efficiency (IPCE%) of 7.069% at 390 nm and −1 V. Photocurrent density (Jph = 2.38 mA/cm2 at −1 V vs. platinum) and PEC hydrogen generation rate (83.68 mmol/ h cm2 at 1 V) are the best characteristics of the best electrode (the thickest and most absorbent IrOx photocathode). At −1 V and 500 nm, the absorbed photon-to-current conversion efficiency (APCE%) was 7.84%. Electrode stability, thermodynamic factors, solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency (STH), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopies (EISs) were also studied.