Metastable Sr 0.5 TaO 3 Perovskite Oxides Prepared by Nanosheet Processing

Metastable Sr 0.5 TaO 3 with a perovskite structure was prepared by using layer‐structured H 2 Sr 1.5 Ta 3 O 10 by two different processes: direct dehydration and nanosheet processing, and the photocatalytic activities of the obtained structures were investigated for the evolution of H 2 and O 2 from distilled water under UV light irradiation. The average gas evolution rates were 66 μmol h –1 (H 2 ) and 16 μmol h –1 (O 2 ) for Sr 0.5 TaO 3 prepared by direct dehydration, whereas those obtained by nanosheet processing were 126 μmol h –1 (H 2 ) and 33 μmol h –1 (O 2 ). It was shown that nanosheet processing is effective for obtaining metastable Sr 0.5 TaO 3 with high photocatalytic activities. (© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)