Fabrication of Iron (iii) Oxide Nanostructures by Potentiostatic Anodization

Iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3) is an excellent material for absorbing visible light from the solar spectrum because of its suitable band gap. However, due to low mobility and high bulk carrier recombination, the photoconversion efficiency of iron (III) oxide has been proven to be very poor. Fabrication of nanostructured iron oxide can potentially compensate for the material’s poor properties. In this work, iron (III) oxide nanostructures were fabricated by potentiostatic anodization of iron foils in various electrolytes. The structures were characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The architectures of the nanostructures were dependent on the anodization parameters. Successful fabrication of Fe2O3 nanopillars, nanopores, and nanoleaflets were achieved and described. + Graduate Mentor # Faculty Mentor