Significantly enhanced piezocatalytic activity of BaTiO3 by regulating the quenching process

Quenching has been demonstrated to have great effects on the electrical properties of piezoelectric materials. Conceivably, it inevitably influences the piezocatalytic performance, however, no research on this has been reported. Herein, we studied the influence of quenching on piezocatalytic perform...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Materials for energy and sustainability, 2023, Vol.11 (19), p.10360-10370
Main Authors: Cheng-Chao, Jin, Jun-Di Ai, Dai-Ming, Liu, Li-Ning, Tan, Cao, Liang, Bing-Lin, Shen, Xu-Ting, Qiu, Ling-Xia, Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air cooling
Barium titanates
Cooling
Cooling rate
Degradation
Electrical properties
Fabrication
Ferroelectricity
Hydrogen evolution
Liquid cooling
Piezoelectricity
Quenching
Regulatory mechanisms (biology)
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Quenching has been demonstrated to have great effects on the electrical properties of piezoelectric materials. Conceivably, it inevitably influences the piezocatalytic performance, however, no research on this has been reported. Herein, we studied the influence of quenching on piezocatalytic performance and elucidated the underlying regulatory mechanism. BaTiO3 (BTO) particles were calcined and quenched using different modes, including furnace cooling, air cooling, and water cooling. The results revealed that accelerating the cooling rate and reducing the concentration of oxygen vacancies (COV) enhanced the piezoelectric and ferroelectric performances. Under the synergetic effect of a low COV and high cooling rate, the air-cooled BTO exhibited significantly enhanced piezocatalytic degradation activity, with a large degradation rate constant k of 0.077 min−1, which is almost 15.40, 6.16, and 3.35 times that of the pristine, furnace-cooled, and water-cooled ones, respectively. Additionally, the air-cooled BTO displayed an optimal piezocatalytic H2 evolution rate of 1.43 mmol h−1 g−1 with methanol as the sacrificial agent. The piezoelectricity, ferroelectricity, carrier characteristics, and adsorption ability of the samples were systematically investigated to unveil the underlying enhancement mechanism. This straightforward and simple approach provides an alternative perspective on the design and fabrication of high-performance piezocatalysts.
ISSN:2050-7488
2050-7496
DOI:10.1039/d3ta00715d