Energy Band Gap Modulation in Nd-Doped BiFeO3/SrRuO3 Heteroepitaxy for Visible Light Photoelectrochemical Activity
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2019
Abstract
The ability of band offsets at multiferroic/metal and multiferroic/electrolyte interfaces in controlling charge transfer and thus altering the photoactivity performance has sparked significant attention in solar energy conversion applications. Here, we demonstrate that the band offsets of the two interfaces play the key role in determining charge transport direction in a downward self-polarized BFO film. Electrons tend to move to BFO/electrolyte interface for water reduction. Our experimental and first-principle calculations reveal that the presence of neodymium (Nd) dopants in BFO enhances the photoelectrochemical performance by reduction of the local electron-hole pair recombination sites and modulation of the band gap to improve the visible light absorption. This opens a promising route to the heterostructure design by modulating the band gap to promote efficient charge transfer. © 2018 American Chemical Society.
Keywords
charge transfer, density functional theory (DFT), heterojunction band offsets, Nd-doped BiFeO 3, photoelectrochemical (PEC)
Divisions
PHYSICS
Publication Title
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
Volume
11
Issue
1
Publisher
American Chemical Society