Studies on nanocrystalline (Sr,Pb)TiO3 solid solutions prepared via a facile self-propagating combustion method

Macroporous nanocrystalline (Sr,Pb)TiO3 solid solutions were prepared by a facile self-propagating combustion method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). (Sr,Pb)TiO3 solid solutions showed enhanced photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) than pure SrTiO3 and an optimum performance was observed for Sr29/32Pb3/32TiO3. The possible mechanism for the enhanced photocatalytic activity on (Sr,Pb)TiO3 solid solutions was proposed.