Non-hydrolytic sol-gel synthesis of BaTiO3 nanoparticles for piezoelectric-enhanced photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

作者：Yina Zheng, Feng Guo, Chao Chen, Yunjing Chen, Na Tu, Fengjian Jiang, Xiangping Jiang · 发表于：Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.mssp.2025.109934 · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Advanced Photocatalysis Techniques、Gas Sensing Nanomaterials and Sensors、TiO2 Photocatalysis and Solar Cells

Piezo-photocatalysis is a promising green route for dye degradation, but the widely studied ferroelectric BaTiO 3 (BT) suffers from weak light absorption and insufficient piezoelectric polarization, leading to low catalytic activity. In this work, BaTiO 3 (BT) nanopowders were synthesized via the non-hydrolytic sol-gel (NHSG) method. By tuning particle size, phase structure and defect distribution, the piezo-photocatalytic activity was significantly enhanced. This paper systematically explores the reaction pathways for the synthesis of BT nanopowders via the NHSG method and highlights the significant effect of calcination temperature on the evolution of the crystal structure of BT. Within the 600–950 °C range, increasing calcination temperature significantly improved the crystallinity of the BT samples, with a gradual increase in the tetragonal phase content. The sample calcined at 850 °C (BT-850) exhibited smaller crystallite size and higher specific surface area compared to commercial BT (BT-C). Under combined UV irradiation and ultrasound vibration, BT-850 displayed superior catalytic activity. This enhancement is attributed to improved spontaneous polarization, shortened charge carrier migration paths, and abundant surface active sites. Polarization treatment further enhanced catalytic performance, with the degradation rate constant ( k ) increasing by 39.2–56.8 %. The polarized BT-850 exhibited the highest performance, achieving a Rhodamine B degradation efficiency of 95...