Defectronics based photoelectrochemical properties of Cu²⁺ ion doped hematite thin film

The concentration of guest elements (dopants) into host materials play an important role in changing their intrinsic electrical and optical properties. The existence of hetero-element induce defect in crystal structure, affecting conductivity. In the current work, we report Cu²⁺ ion into hematite in the defectronics point of view and their photoelectrochemical properties. Crystal distortion in the structure of hematite is observed as the amount of dopant increases. Among 1, 3 and 5 mol% of Cu²⁺ doped hematite, the existence of 1 mol% of Cu²⁺ ion into hematite crystal structure produce photocurrent value of 0.15 mA/cm², IPCE value of ~ 4.7% and EIS value of ~ 2000 Ω/cm² as best performances. However, further increasing dopants increases the number of interstitial defects, which cause the deformation of intrinsic lattice structure.