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Site‐Selected Doping of Upconversion Luminescent Er 3+ into SrTiO 3 for Visible‐Light‐Driven Photocatalytic H 2 or O 2 Evolution
Author(s) -
Shi Jinwen,
Ye Jinhua,
Ma Lijing,
Ouyang Shuxin,
Jing Dengwei,
Guo Liejin
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201102807
Subject(s) - photon upconversion , photocatalysis , excited state , materials science , visible spectrum , doping , photochemistry , erbium , luminescence , optoelectronics , chemistry , atomic physics , physics , catalysis , biochemistry
A series of upconversion luminescent erbium‐doped SrTiO 3 (ABO 3 ‐type) photocatalysts with different initial molar ratios of Sr/Ti have been prepared by a facile polymerized complex method. Er 3+ ions, which were gradually transferred from the A to the B site with increasing Sr/Ti, enabled the absorption of visible light and the generation of high‐energy excited states populated by upconversion processes. The local internal fields arising from the dipole moments of the distorted BO 6 octahedra promoted energy transfer from the high‐energy excited states of Er 3+ with B‐site occupancy to the host SrTiO 3 and thus enhanced the band‐to‐band transition of the host SrTiO 3 . Consequently, the erbium‐doped SrTiO 3 species with B‐site occupancy showed higher photocatalytic activity than those with A‐site occupancy for visible‐light‐driven H 2 or O 2 evolution in the presence of the corresponding sacrificial reagents. The results generally suggest that the introduction of upconversion luminescent agents into host semiconductors is a promising approach to simultaneously harnessing low‐energy photons and maintaining redox ability for photocatalytic H 2 and O 2 evolution and that the site occupancy of doped elements in ABO 3 ‐type perovskite oxides greatly determines the photocatalytic activity.