Theoretical and experimental photocatalytic implications of Co ions upon the SrTiO3 lattice

Abstract

SrTiO3 (STO) nanoparticles have been synthetized by the microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MAH) with the introduction of Co dopants in quotas of 0.5%, 1.0%,1.5% and 2.0% and the analytes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and UV/VIS techniques. The theoretical calculations have demonstrated that by the addition of Co ions the top of the valence band has been shifted to values above the potential energy for the formation of the OH– radical, a fact that indicates the defects as a hindrance to the conduction of the dye photo degradation steps. Although the band gap reduction being related to the amount of Co ions in the matrix the effect of recombination seemed to be augmented for the escalation of dopant material within the unit cell. The photocatalytic benchmark has demonstrated that the Co doping were directly related to the reduction on the reaction rate constant (k).