Photoelectrocatalytic Activity of ZnO-Modified Hematite Films in the Reaction of Alcohol Degradation

Thin-film nanocrystalline hematite electrodes were fabricated by electrochemical deposition and loaded with electrodeposited zinc oxide in various amounts. Under visible light illumination, these electrodes demonstrate high activity in the photoelectrochemical degradation of methanol, ethylene glycol and, in particular, glycerol. Results of intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy show that the photoelectrocatalysis efficiency is explained by the suppression of the electron–hole pair recombination and an increase in the rate of photo-induced charge transfer. Thus, zinc oxide can be considered an effective modifying additive for hematite photoanodes.