Photocatalysis assisted by Ferroelectric Polarization

Application to Hydrogen Production

Tania MREYDE,a Chantal GUILLARD,a Gilles BERHAULTb,*

a
Ircelyon, CNRS, University Claude Bernard, 69266 Villeurbanne, France
b
Author’s affiliation, City, Zip code, Country
*Gilles.Berhault@ircelyon.univ-lyon1.fr

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1. Scope
Photocatalysis is an effective method for breaking down harmful molecules in water or air. Titanium
dioxide (TiO2) is commonly used, but its large band gap limits its use to UV light. Additionally, it has a
high recombination rate of electron-hole pairs, reducing its effectiveness. This work aims to improve
TiO2 by combining it with ferroelectric materials like barium titanate (BaTiO 3) and strontium titanate
(SrTiO3). These materials creates positive and negative charges on their surfaces, improving the
separation of electron-hole pairs within the semiconductor TiO2

2. Results and discussion

The barium titanate BaTiO3 can exist in two distinct phases: cubic paraelectric, and tetragonal ferroelectric.
The primary differentiation between the phases in X-ray diffraction (XRD) is the splitting of the diffraction
peak at 45° between the (002) and (200) planes. XRD results successfully confirmed the formation of the
ferroelectric phase in the presence of alcohol at 200°C, with a 70% rate (splitting of the peak at 45° between
the two planes) compared to 45% in its absence at the same temperature, indicating the cubic phase
formation (absence of peak splitting). Additionally, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis validated
the formation of BaTiO3 cubes of approximately 100 nm with a specific surface area of 10 m2/g, affirming
successful BaTiO3 formation.

3. Conclusions

References
1. A.B. Author, C.D. Author, E.F. Author, Top. Catal. 2014, 57, 1234-5678.