In this paper a novel synthetic route of pure MFe2O4 (M = Mg, Co, and Ni) spinel ferrites is reported. The key feature of this method is using a single molecular precursor. The pure spinel ferrites can be obtained by calcination of tailored hydrotalcite-like layered double hydroxides (LDHs) of the type [M1 - X - Y Fe2+ Y Fe3+ X (OH)2] X +(SO4 2-) X /2·mH2O (M = Mg, Co, and Ni) precursors at 900 °C for 2 h, in which the molar ratio of M2+/(Fe2+ + Fe3+) is adjusted to the same value as that in single spinel ferrite itself. The structural characteristics of the as-synthesized LDHs and their resulting calcined products are obtained by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), chemical analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), simultaneous thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The saturation magnetizations of the materials produced by calcinations of LDHs are higher than those of the spinel ferrites produced by the conventional ceramic and wet chemical routes, although the compositions of the materials are similar. The major advantage of the new method is that it affords uniform distribution of all metal cations on an atomic level in the LDH precursors; hence, the formation of spinel ferrites starting from the LDHs requires a much lower temperature and shorter time, leading to a lower chance of side-reactions occurring.

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Earth-abundant hematite is an attractive photoanode for photoelectrochemical water splitting, whereas the intrinsic properties of inferior charge transfer and slow water oxidation kinetics still hinder its application. In response, an integrated photoanode has been constructed with hematite nanorod arrays modified by fluorine anion doping and further decorated with amorphous CoAl-layered double hydroxides (CoAl-LDH). This novel CoAl-LDH/F–Fe2O3 photoanode exhibited an excellent photocurrent density of 2.46 mA cm–2 at 1.23 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (V RHE), five times enhanced than that of pristine α-Fe2O3. Systematic investigations reveal that fluorine anion serving as a donor dopant dramatically enhances the density of charge carrier and reduces the resistance of hematite for rapid charge transfer. Furthermore, the cocatalyst of CoAl-LDH could effectively passivate the surface defects of F–Fe2O3 and facilitate the water oxidation kinetics through an alternative pathway of holes trapped by Co species. As a consequence, the charge separation efficiencies of the bulk and surface were improved to 32.6 and 81.8%, respectively, compared with those of α-Fe2O3 (9.7 and 31.7%). Our results demonstrate that the dual modification of the bulk and surface is an attractive maneuver to ameliorate the water oxidation activity of hematite.

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