Empirical in operando analysis of the charge carrier dynamics in hematite photoanodes by PEIS, IMPS and IMVS

In this Perspective, we introduce intensity modulated photocurrent/voltage spectroscopy (IMPS and IMVS) as powerful tools for the analysis of charge carrier dynamics in photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells for solar water splitting, taking hematite (a-Fe2O3) photoanodes as a case study. We complete the picture by including photoelectrochemical impedance spectroscopy (PEIS) and linking the trio of PEIS, IMPS and IMVS, introduced here as photoelectrochemical immittance triplets (PIT), both mathematically and phenomenologically, demonstrating what conclusions can be extracted from these measurements. A novel way of analyzing the results by an empirical approach with minimal presumptions is introduced, using the distribution of relaxation times (DRT) function. The DRT approach is compared to conventional analysis approaches that are based on physical models and therefore come with model presumptions. This work uses a thin film hematite photoanode as a model system, but the approach can be applied to other PEC systems as well.