Synthesis, Structure, and Energetic Characteristics of Perovskite Photocatalyst SrTiO3: an Experimental and DFT Study

Abstract

SrTiO3-based photocatalysts have become widely used due to their excellent properties such as high thermal stability, photocorrosion resistance, and stable structure that can be modified by doping and making composites. In this work, SrTiO3 powder was prepared from Sr(NO3)2 and TiO2 precursors by a simple chemical precipitation method followed by calcination. It was determined that calcination at 900 °C followed by treatment in nitric acid solution produced cubic SrTiO3 particles without the presence of any impurities. In addition, structural, morphology, and energetic characterization using experimental and theoretical aspects are presented. Within the framework of density functional theory, the electronic properties of SrTiO3 have been investigated in the Quantum ESPRESSO software package using the PBE functional under the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). The band structure and density of states were obtained, and the width of the bandgap was determined.

Synthesis and Study of SrTiO3/TiO2 Hybrid Perovskite Nanotubes by Electrochemical Anodization

“…Calcination at 800 °C leads to the formation of finer particles but with more significant numbers of impurities such as SrCO 3 . Based on the literature and experimental data [ 23 , 24 ], the optimal calcination temperature is 900 °C, which is followed by treatment in 1 m nitric acid solution to remove residual SrCO 3 . However, it is worth noting that the particle sizes are highly heterogeneous.…”

“…SrTiO 3 was obtained using a chemical precipitation method [ 24 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. For this purpose, 2.54 g of Sr (NO 3 ) 2 was mixed with 100 mL of distilled water; then, 0.958 g of TiO 2 was added in a 1:1 ratio of Ti and SrTiO 3 to this solution.…”