2016 Volume 63 Issue 7 Pages 559-562
SrTiO3 is attracting much attention as a photocatalytic material for water splitting. SrTiO3 powders have been conventionally prepared by a solid-state reaction at around 1000 ºC. Our group has taken an alternative approach by developing a novel method for preparing perovskite oxide powders at low temperature (< 50 ºC) without the use of solvents such as water or organic solvent. We found that a highly crystallized SrTiO3 fine powder could be obtained at room temperature simply by letting a powder mixture of Sr(OH)2·8H2O and TiO2·nH2O gel stand for a number of days. In this study we investigated how the water included in the TiO2·nH2O gel affected the crystallinity and particle properties of the SrTiO3. The photocatalytic activity of the material was also investigated.
A TG-DTA analysis was performed to determine the n values of various kinds of TiO2·nH2O gels prepared by changing the duration of drying at 100 ºC. The crystallinity of fine particles evaluated from the integral width of the XRD pattern improved as the n value increased.
By virtue of their small particle size, SrTiO3 fine particles decomposed methylene blue via UV irradiation more effectively than a powder prepared by solid-state synthesis.
