Throughout extensive research endeavors, SrTiO3 has
emerged as a promising photocatalytic material for utilizing solar
energy and facilitating hydrogen production via water splitting. Yet,
the pursuit of enhanced efficiency and amplified hydrogen generation
has prompted researchers to delve into the realm of advanced doping
strategies. In this work, using experimental characteristics and DFT
calculations, we studied the effect of cobalt substitution on the
structural, electronic, optical, and magnetic properties as well as
the photocatalytic activity of SrTi1–x
Co
x
O3−δ (x = 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.375, and 0.5) perovskites.
The samples were successfully prepared by using the solid-state reaction
method. Based on X-ray diffraction and the Rietveld refinement method,
the elaborated samples were shown to preserve the absorption range
up to the visible region. Moreover, the position of band edge levels
after cobalt doping becomes more appropriate for water splitting.
Our findings report that all cobalt-doped compounds exhibit good photocatalytic
activities and could be used as suitable photocatalyst materials for
hydrogen production.