Fabrication of SrTiO3 exposing characteristic facets using molten salt flux and improvement of photocatalytic activity for water splitting

Flux treatment using various molten salts was performed for SrTiO3 powders. Morphology of SrTiO3 crystals obtained by the flux treatment strongly depended on the kinds of molten salts used. Large cubic crystals exposing {100} facets with a size of 5–6 μm were obtained by the flux treatment with LiCl whereas truncated cubes exposing {100} and {110} facets with a size of 200–400 nm were obtained when NaCl or SrCl2 was used as a flux reagent. In contrast, the flux treatment with KCl gave characteristic shaped crystals with a size of 300 nm. Electron microscope observation and electron diffraction analysis revealed that the crystals treated with the KCl flux expose {100}, {120}, and {121} facets. SrTiO3 treated with the KCl flux exhibited higher activity by 20 times than the non-flux-treated sample. Thus, a remarkable improvement of activity has been achieved by the fabrication of SrTiO3 crystals exposing high-index facets, {120} and {121}, using the KCl flux.