biostudies-literatureKim CWThis work was supported by the Leader Project at the Korea Institute of Energy Technology (KENTECH) for Environmental and Climate Technology, funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT through the National Research Foundation of Korea.20972https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9723142biostudies-literatureUnknown12(1)The concentration of guest elements (dopants) into host materials play an important role in changing their intrinsic electrical and optical properties. The existence of hetero-element induce defect in crystal structure, affecting conductivity. In the current work, we report Cu²⁺ ion into hematite in the defectronics point of view and their photoelectrochemical properties. Crystal distortion in the structure of hematite is observed as the amount of dopant increases. Among 1, 3 and 5 mol% of Cu²⁺ doped hematite, the existence of 1 mol% of Cu²⁺ ion into hematite crystal structure produce photocurrent value of 0.15 mA/cm², IPCE value of ~ 4.7% and EIS value of ~ 2000 Ω/cm² as best performances. However, further increasing dopants increases the number of interstitial defects, which cause the deformation of intrinsic lattice structure.Scientific reportsDefectronics based photoelectrochemical properties of Cu²⁺ ion doped hematite thin film.PMC97231422020R1A3B3079715Kim CWHawari TTang JAhn NHYang LLee DKZhuo ZSivasankaran RPPawar AUKang YSfalseDefectronics based photoelectrochemical properties of Cu²⁺ ion doped hematite thin film.The concentration of guest elements (dopants) into host materials play an important role in changing their intrinsic electrical and optical properties. The existence of hetero-element induce defect in crystal structure, affecting conductivity. In the current work, we report Cu²⁺ ion into hematite in the defectronics point of view and their photoelectrochemical properties. Crystal distortion in the structure of hematite is observed as the amount of dopant increases. Among 1, 3 and 5 mol% of Cu²⁺ doped hematite, the existence of 1 mol% of Cu²⁺ ion into hematite crystal structure produce photocurrent value of 0.15 mA/cm², IPCE value of ~ 4.7% and EIS value of ~ 2000 Ω/cm² as best performances. However, further increasing dopants increases the number of interstitial defects, which cause the deformation of intrinsic lattice structure.2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Dec2025-04-05T11:49:02.287Z2025-04-05T11:49:02.287ZS-EPMC97231423647087810.1038/s41598-022-20045-6