Novel Au/La‐SrTiO 3 microspheres: Superimposed Effect of Gold Nanoparticles and Lanthanum Doping in Photocatalysis

Novel multielement Au/La‐SrTiO 3 microspheres were synthesized by a solvothermal method using monodisperse gold and La‐SrTiO 3 nanocrystals as building blocks. The porous Au/La‐SrTiO 3 microspheres had a large surface area of 94.6 m 2  g −1 . The stable confined Au nanoparticles demonstrated strong surface plasmon resonance effect, leading to enhanced absorption in a broad UV/Vis/NIR range. Doping of rare‐earth metal La also broadened the absorption band to the visible region. Both the conduction and valence bands of Au/La‐SrTiO 3 microspheres thus show favorable potential for proton reduction under visible light. The superimposed effect of Au nanoparticles and La doping in Au/La‐SrTiO 3 microspheres led to high photocurrent density in photoelectrochemical water splitting and good photocatalytic activity in photodegradation of rhodamine B. The photocatalytic activities are in the order of the following: Au/La‐SrTiO 3 microspheres>Au/SrTiO 3 microspheres>La‐SrTiO 3 microspheres>SrTiO 3 microspheres.