TY - JOUR
T1 - Influence of structural features on the photocatalytic activity of NaTaO3 powders from different synthesis methods
AU - Hu, Che Chia
AU - Teng, Hsisheng
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Science Council of Taiwan (NSC 95-2120-M-006-001 and NSC 95-2221-E-006-408-MY3).
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - Perovskite-like NaTaO3 photocatalyst powders have generally been synthesized with a solid-state method, which formed the orthorhombic phase that has a direct band gap and a Ta-O-Ta bond angle of ca. 163°. The present work reports a sol-gel synthesis, in which NaTaO3 nanoparticles were obtained at a temperature as low as 500 °C by using sodium acetate and tantalum chloride as the starting materials and citric acid as the complexing agent. Because of the low-temperature condition used in the synthesis, the sol-gel NaTaO3 was of the monoclinic phase that has an indirect band gap, high densities of states near the band edges, and a Ta-O-Ta bond angle close to 180°. Thanks to the surface area as well as the electronic and crystalline structures, the sol-gel NaTaO3 was considered more favorable to photocatalytic reactions than the solid-state material. This interpretation was supported by the finding that the sol-gel NaTaO3 exhibited a remarkably higher photocatalytic activity in water splitting than the solid-state material.
AB - Perovskite-like NaTaO3 photocatalyst powders have generally been synthesized with a solid-state method, which formed the orthorhombic phase that has a direct band gap and a Ta-O-Ta bond angle of ca. 163°. The present work reports a sol-gel synthesis, in which NaTaO3 nanoparticles were obtained at a temperature as low as 500 °C by using sodium acetate and tantalum chloride as the starting materials and citric acid as the complexing agent. Because of the low-temperature condition used in the synthesis, the sol-gel NaTaO3 was of the monoclinic phase that has an indirect band gap, high densities of states near the band edges, and a Ta-O-Ta bond angle close to 180°. Thanks to the surface area as well as the electronic and crystalline structures, the sol-gel NaTaO3 was considered more favorable to photocatalytic reactions than the solid-state material. This interpretation was supported by the finding that the sol-gel NaTaO3 exhibited a remarkably higher photocatalytic activity in water splitting than the solid-state material.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34548603287&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=34548603287&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.apcata.2007.07.024
DO - 10.1016/j.apcata.2007.07.024
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:34548603287
SN - 0926-860X
VL - 331
SP - 44
EP - 50
JO - Applied Catalysis A: General
JF - Applied Catalysis A: General
IS - 1
ER -