Decoupling size and electronic effects in doped SrTiO₃ photocatalysts through surface area-normalized CO₂ hydrogenation rates
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
his study decouples size and electronic effects in Ga- and La,Ga-doped SrTiO3 photocatalysts through specific surface area (SSA) normalized CO2 hydrogenation rates. The distinction between SSA-normalized and apparent photocatalytic activity is crucial because gas-sorption experiments reveal that Ga monodoping significantly increases the SSA of sol–gel synthesized SrTiO3, but does not enhance its SSA-normalized photocatalytic activity in CO2 photohydrogenation. In contrast, SSA-normalized photocatalytic rates for La,Ga co-doped SrTiO3 approximately double, suggesting a true improvement in catalytic performance. These co-doped samples show intense, sharp photoluminescence and a mid-gap absorption feature which, using DFT calculations and oxygen annealing experiments, color centers are attributed to (𝑒.𝑔.,𝑇𝑖𝑥𝑇𝑖 −𝑉x𝑂 −𝑇𝑖𝑥𝑇𝑖 ↔𝑇𝑖′𝑇𝑖 −𝑉··𝑂 −𝑇𝑖′𝑇𝑖). Though future studies into the identification of the active site(s) are needed to assess the true, intrinsic activity, this study highlights that SSA normalization of photocatalytic rates is helpful to disentangle key material properties that enhance the catalytic activity from mere surface area effects.
Date Issued
2026-03-26
Date Acceptance
2025-12-01
Citation
Advanced Functional Materials, 2026, 36 (25)
ISSN
1616-301X
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Advanced Functional Materials
Volume
36
Issue
25
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Advanced Functional Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Identifier
10.1002/adfm.202511923
Subjects
Chemistry
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chemistry, Physical
CO2 reduction photocatalyst
color centers
EFFICIENCY
electronic structure of SrTiO3
Materials Science
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
NANOCOMPOSITES
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
NITRIDE
OXYGEN VACANCIES
oxygen vacancy defects
PERFORMANCE
PHOTOREDUCTION
Physical Sciences
Physics
Physics, Applied
Physics, Condensed Matter
REDUCTION
Science & Technology
Science & Technology - Other Topics
STATES
surface area-normalized activity
Technology
TEMPERATURE
WATER
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e11923
Date Publish Online
2025-12-10