Fabrication of Barium Strontium Titanate Nanophotocatalysts with Gridding Structures and Their Photocatalytic Activities

doi:10.15541/jim20150245

Abstract

Abstract:

Ba_0.7Sr_0.3TiO₃ (BST) nanocatalysts were prepared by a Sol-Gel method at pH of 2.4 and 4, respectively, both of which were presented as tetragonal phase. TEM images indicated that the BST sample obtained at pH = 2.4 was nanoparticles with an average size of about 100 nm, while that obtained at pH = 4 was gridding structures composed of nanocubes with a mean size of 100 nm. The photocatalytic behavior of BST in the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) was investigated. It was found that the BST catalysts with gridding structures showed much better photocatalytic performance than the BST nanoparticles. This could be attributed to the fact that the photo-generated carriers can migrate easily through the gridding-structured BST sample, which would enhance the photocatalytic activity during the degradation process. It was also found that both BST photocatalysts in this work showed good catalytic stability.

Key words: (Ba,Sr)TiO3, gridding-structure, photocatalyst, Sol-Gel

CLC Number:

X703

ZENG Tao, BAI Yang, LI Hao, MAO Chao-Liang, DONG Xian-Lin, GUI Shu-Xiang. Fabrication of Barium Strontium Titanate Nanophotocatalysts with Gridding Structures and Their Photocatalytic Activities[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2015, 30(12): 1334-1338.

Figures/Tables 7

Fig. 1 XRD patterns of the BST at different pH

Fig. 2 TEM images of the (a, b) BST (pH=2.4) and (c, d) BST (pH=4)

Fig. 3 Schematic illustration of the formation process for BST gridding-structure (a-d) and the separation process for photo- generated carries (e)

Fig. 4 Typical diffuse reflection spectrum of the BST

Fig. 5 Normalized concentration of RhB (a) and logarithm of normalized concentration of RhB (b) at different reaction time

Table 1 The BET surface areas of the different BST catalysts, the rate constants in the degradation of RhB

Sample	BST (pH=2.4)	BST (pH=4)
BET surface/(m²·g^-1)	6.12	7.87
Rate constant/min^-1	0.018	0.059

Fig. 6 Cycling runs in the photocatalytic degradation of RhB in the presence of BST (pH=4) (a) and BST (pH=2.4) (b)

References 18

[1]	PIERRE LE-CLECH, CHEN VICKI, FANE TONY A G. Fouling in membrane bioreactors used in wastewater treatment.J. Membrane. Sci., 2006, 284(1/2): 17-53.
[2]	ZÜMRIYE AKSU. Biosorption of reactive dyes by dried activated sludge: equilibrium and kinetic modeling.Biochem. Eng. J., 2001, 7(1): 79-84.
[3]	ELISABETH NEYENS, JAN BAEYENS, RAF DEWIL, et al.Advanced sludge treatment affects extracellular polymeric substances to improve activated sludge dewatering.J. Hazard. Mater., 2004, 106(2/3): 83-92.
[4]	ROBERTO ANDREOZZI, VINCENZO CAPRIO, AMEDEO INSOLA, et al.Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) for water purification and recovery.Catalysis Today, 1999, 53(1): 51-59.
[5]	BIAN ZHEN-FENG, TAKASHI TACHIKAWA, ZHANG PENG, et al.Au/TiO2 superstructure-based plasmonic photocatalysts exhibiting efficient charge separation and unprecedented activity.J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2014, 136(1): 458-465.
[6]	NEYENS E, BAEYENS J.A review of classic Fenton’s peroxidation as an advanced oxidation technique.J. Hazard. Mater., 2003, 98(1/2/3): 33-50.
[7]	YANG XIAO-FEI, CUI HAI-YING, LI YANG, et al.Fabrication of Ag3PO4‑graphene composites with highly efficient and stable visible light photocatalytic performance.ACS Catal., 2013, 3(3): 363-369.
[8]	MATT STOCK, STEVE DUNN.Influence of the ferroelectric nature of lithium niobate to drive photocatalytic dye decolorization under artificial solar light.J. Phys. Chem. C, 2012, 116(39): 20854-20859.
[9]	WANG JIANG-YING, YAO XI, ZHANG LIANG-YING.Preparation and dielectric properties of barium strontium titanate glass- ceramics sintered from Sol-Gel-derived powders.Ceram. Int., 2004, 30(7): 1749-1752.
[10]	JANG H M, JUN Y H.(Ba, Sr)TiO3 system under dc-bias field. II: Induced and intrinsic pyroelectric coefficients and figures-of-merit.Ferroelectrics, 1997, 193(1): 125-140.
[11]	LIU JUN-LIANG, ZHANG WEI, GUO CUIJING, et al.Synthesis and magnetic properties of quasi-single domain M-type barium hexaferrite powders via Sol-Gel auto-combustion: effects of pH and the ratio of citric acid to metal ions (CA/M).J. Alloys Compd., 2009, 479(1/2): 863-869.
[12]	YU JIA-GUO, SU YAO-RONG, CHENG BEI, et al.Effects of pH on the microstructures and photocatalytic activity of mesoporous nanocrystalline titania powders prepared via hydrothermal method.J. Mol. Catal. A-Chem., 2006, 258(1/2): 104-112.
[13]	BIAN ZHEN-FENG, TAKASHI TACHIKAWA, TETSURO MAJIMA.Superstructure of TiO2 crystalline nanoparticles yields effective conduction pathways for photogenerated charges.J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2012, 3(11): 1422-1427.
[14]	BIAN ZHEN-FENG, TAKASHI TACHIKAWA, KIM WOOYUL, et al.Superior electron transport and photocatalytic abilities of metal nanoparticle- loaded TiO2 superstructures.J. Phys. Chem. C, 2012, 116(48): 25444-25453.
[15]	LAKSHMINARASIMHAN N, KIM W, CHOI W.Effect of the agglomerated state on the photocatalytic hydrogen production with in situ agglomeration of colloidal TiO2 nanoparticles.J. Phys. Chem. C, 2008, 112(51): 20451-20457.
[16]	ISMAIL A A, BAHNEMANN D W.Mesostructured Pt/TiO2 nanocomposites as highly active photocatalysts for the photooxidation of dichloroacetic acid.J. Phys. Chem. C, 2011, 115(13): 5784-5791.
[17]	GONZALEZ-VAZQUEZ J P, MORALES-FLÓ REZ V, ANTA J A. How important is working with an ordered electrode to improve the charge collection efficiency in nanostructured solar cells?J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2012, 3(3): 386-393.
[18]	KUDO A, TSUJI I, KATO H.AgInZn7S9 solid solution photocatalyst for H2 evolution from aqueous solutions under visible light irradiation.Chem. Commun., 2002, 17: 1958-1959.