Issue 10, 2011

Self-doped SrTiO3−δ photocatalyst with enhanced activity for artificial photosynthesis under visible light

Abstract

Self-doped SrTiO3−δ was prepared through a carbon-free one-step combustion method followed by a series of heat treatments in Ar at temperatures ranging from 1200 to 1400 °C. X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and High-Resolution TEM confirm the presence of Ti3+ in samples with oxygen vacancy accommodated in perovskite by forming Ruddlesden–Popper crystallographic shears. The UV-vis spectra and electronic structure calculations show that the oxygen vacancy and Ti3+ together induce an in-gap band to enhance the visible light absorption. Pulsed Adsorption of CO2 and Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) experiments show that the higher oxygen deficiency tends to improve the chemical adsorption of CO2 on the surface as well as in the bulk of SrTiO3−δ, especially the accommodation of CO2 molecule in the oxygen vacancy. It is the synergetic effect of visible light absorption and chemical adsorption of CO2 that improves the artificial photosynthesis to generate hydrocarbon fuels from CO2/H2O under visible light irradiation. We also demonstrated that the incorporation of oxygen from CO2/H2O into the oxygen vacancy of SrTiO3−δ leads to the absence of oxygen evolution which therefore results in the oxidation of SrTiO3−δ (Ti3+ → Ti4+).

Graphical abstract: Self-doped SrTiO3−δ photocatalyst with enhanced activity for artificial photosynthesis under visible light

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 May 2011
Accepted
21 Jul 2011
First published
23 Aug 2011

Energy Environ. Sci., 2011,4, 4211-4219

Self-doped SrTiO3−δ photocatalyst with enhanced activity for artificial photosynthesis under visible light

K. Xie, N. Umezawa, N. Zhang, P. Reunchan, Y. Zhang and J. Ye, Energy Environ. Sci., 2011, 4, 4211 DOI: 10.1039/C1EE01594J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements