Hydrothermal synthesis and photocatalytic activities of Bi4Ti3O12/SrTiO3 composite micro-platelets

• Bi4Ti3O12/SrTiO3 composite was fabricated by combining hydrothermal reaction and molten salt method.
• Bi4Ti3O12/SrTiO3 exhibits higher photocatalytic activity than pure Bi4Ti3O12.
• The absorption light of Bi4Ti3O12/SrTiO3 has been broadened to visible light.

In this study, Bi4Ti3O12/SrTiO3 micro-platelets were successfully synthesized by using hydrothermal and molten salt methods, and the morphology and photocatalytic degradation performance of Bi4Ti3O12/SrTiO3 was characterized. The results indicated a much higher degradation rate of methylene blue and methylene orange, reaching more than 90% and 65%, respectively, within 3 h under visible-light irradiation. Compared with pure Bi4Ti3O12, the photocatalytic activity of Bi4Ti3O12/SrTiO3 was significantly better, due to the micron–submicron heterojunction with SrTiO3 reducing the band gap of Bi4Ti3O12. In addition, the perovskite structure layer facilitates the mobility of the photogenerated carriers and hampers their recombination, which were affected the photocatalytic properties.

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