Insights into the Role of Ferroelectric Polarization in Piezocatalysis of Nanocrystalline BaTiO3

Piezoelectric effect, commonly known as a change in electric polarization in piezoelectric/ferroelectric materials under mechanical stress, is extensively employed as a driving force for the catalytic degradation of organic pollutants. However, the relationship between electric polarization and piezocatalytic activity is still unclear. In this work, we investigated the role of ferroelectric polarization in the piezocatalytic activity of BaTiO3 nanoparticles through annealing BaTiO3 at different temperatures or poling BaTiO3 at different electric fields. The BaTiO3 nanoparticles annealed at 800 °C exhibit effectively enhanced piezocatalytic activity compared with those annealed at other temperatures. The polycrystalline particles annealed at higher temperatures exhibit a greatly reduced catalytic activity. After poling, the piezocatalytic activity of the polycrystalline BaTiO3 particles was obviously improved. In addition, we identified the free radical species and the intermediate products of the catalytic reaction. We also well-explained the dependence of electric polarization in the BaTiO3 piezocatalyst on annealing temperature and ultrasonic vibration theoretically. Our study indicates that increasing ferroelectric polarization (but not crystallite size) can effectively enhance the piezocatalytic activity. We believe that the present work provides a clear understanding of the role of ferroelectric polarization in piezocatalysis.