Abstract
Type I heterojunction films of alpha-Fe2O3/ZnO are reported here as a non-titania based photocatalyst, which shows remarkable enhancement in the photocatalytic properties towards stearic acid degradation under UVA-light exposure (lambda=365 nm), with a quantum efficiency of xi=4.42 +/- 1.54x10(-4) molecules degraded/photon, which was about 16 times greater than that of alpha-Fe2O3, and 2.5 times greater than that of ZnO. Considering that the degradation of stearic acid requires 104 electron transfers for each molecule, this represents an overall quantum efficiency of 4.60 % for the alpha-Fe2O3/ZnO heterojunction. Time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) revealed the charge-carrier behaviour responsible for this increase in activity. Photogenerated electrons, formed in the ZnO layer, were transferred into the alpha-Fe2O3 layer on the pre-mu s timescale, which reduced electron-hole recombination. This increased the lifetime of photogenerated holes formed in ZnO, which oxidise stearic acid. The heterojunction alpha-Fe2O3/ZnO films grown herein show potential environmental applications as coatings for self-cleaning windows and surfaces.