Ordered Mesoporous LiFe5O8 Thin-Film Photoanodes for Water Splitting

The optical and photoelectrochemical properties of ordered mesoporous alpha-LiFe5O8 thin films have been investigated. These sol-gel thin films exhibit a complex band structure, indicating a band gap of 2.45 eV, with additional absorption in the visible region up to lambda=600 nm. Mott-Schottky plots reveal their applicability as photoanodes for water splitting (as they are n-type semiconductors) and photoelectrochemical tests show good performance for water oxidation.