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Topotactic Epitaxy of SrTiO 3 Mesocrystal Superstructures with Anisotropic Construction for Efficient Overall Water Splitting
Author(s) -
Zhang Peng,
Ochi Tomoya,
Fujitsuka Mamoru,
Kobori Yasuhiro,
Majima Tetsuro,
Tachikawa Takashi
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201702223
Subject(s) - superstructure , water splitting , photocatalysis , heterojunction , materials science , epitaxy , hydrothermal circulation , nanocrystal , aqueous solution , perovskite (structure) , chemical engineering , semiconductor , nanotechnology , chemistry , crystallography , optoelectronics , catalysis , physics , biochemistry , layer (electronics) , engineering , thermodynamics
The higher‐order structures of semiconductor‐based photocatalysts play crucial roles in their physicochemical properties for efficient light‐to‐energy conversion. A novel perovskite SrTiO 3 mesocrystal superstructure with well‐defined orientation of assembled cubic nanocrystals was synthesized by topotactic epitaxy from TiO 2 mesocrystals through a facile hydrothermal treatment. The SrTiO 3 mesocrystal exhibits three times the efficiency for the hydrogen evolution of conventional disordered systems in alkaline aqueous solution. It also exhibits a high quantum yield of 6.7 % at 360 nm in overall water splitting and even good durability up to 1 day. Temporal and spatial spectroscopic observations revealed that the synergy of the efficient electron flow along the internal nanocube network and efficient collection at the larger external cubes produces remarkably long‐lived charges for enhanced photocatalysis.