Simple hydrothermal synthesis and photocatalytic performance of coral-like BaTiO3 nanostructures

Abstract

Coral-like BaTiO₃ nanostructures were successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal route at 150 °C for 15 h employing BaCl₂, tetrabutyl titanate [(C₄H₉O)₄Ti] and NaOH as reactants without the assistance of any surfactant or template. The phase of the as-obtained BaTiO₃ was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). Energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and (high-resolution) transmission electron microscopy (TEM/HRTEM) were employed for the composition and morphology analyses of the final product. Some factors influencing the formation of the coral-like BaTiO₃ nanostructures were investigated, including the amount of NaOH, the barium ion source, and the reaction temperature and time. Experiments showed that the as-prepared coral-like BaTiO₃ nanostructures presented good photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye under the irradiation of artificial sunlight. It was found that the photocatalytic activity of the coral-like BaTiO₃ nanostructures could be affected by the pH value of the system.