Ferroelectric polarization-enhanced photocatalytic performance of heterostructured BaTiO₃@TiO₂ via interface engineering

Abstract

A catalyst of ferroelectric-BaTiO₃@photoelectric-TiO₂ nanohybrids (BaTiO₃@TiO₂) with enhanced photocatalytic activity was synthesized via a hydrolysis precipitation combined with a hydrothermal approach. Compared to pure TiO₂, pure BaTiO₃ and BaTiO₃/TiO₂ physical mixture, the heterostructured BaTiO₃@TiO₂ exhibits significantly improved photocatalytic activity and cycling stability in decomposing Rhodamine B (RhB) and the degradation efficiency is 1.7 times higher than pure TiO₂ and 7.2 times higher than pure BaTiO₃. These results are mainly attributed to the synergy effect of photoelectric TiO₂, ferroelectric-BaTiO₃ and the rationally designed interfacial structure. The mesoporous microstructure of TiO₂ is of a high specific area and enables excellent photocatalytic activity. The ferroelectric polarization induced built-in electric field in BaTiO₃ nanoparticles, and the intimate interfacial interactions at the interface of BaTiO₃ and TiO₂ are effective in driving the separation and transport of photogenerated charge carriers. This strategy will stimulate the design of heterostructured photocatalysts with outstanding photocatalytic performance via interface engineering.

Keywords

heterostructured BaTiO₃@TiO₂ / ferroelectric polarization / interfacial interactions / photocatalytic activity

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