High piezo-photocatalysis of BaTiO3 nanofibers for organic dye decomposition

In this work, a highly efficient piezo-photocatalysis for organic dyes decomposition is realized in the hydrothermally synthesized BaTiO3 nanofibers through the synergy between piezocatalysis and photocatalysis. With the simultaneous exertion of light irradiation and vibration, the rate constant for piezo-photocatalysis of rhodamine B dye is as high as ∼ 0.10307 min−1, which is larger than that for the photocatalysis of ∼ 0.00641 min−1 or that for the piezocatalysis of ∼ 0.01859 min−1. The enhanced catalytic activity is correlated with the piezoelectric potential formed in the BaTiO3 under external vibration, which is helpful to effectively promote the separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. In piezo-photocatalysis, both the measured photocurrent and fluorescence intensity for active species hydroxyl radicals’ detection are found to be higher than the counterparts in photocatalysis. Furthermore, BaTiO3 nanofibers also exhibit good stability and universal decomposition of various dyes. This work may offer a new concept for designing an efficient dye wastewater purification system through utilizing diversified energies in nature.