Synthesis of a tailored SrTiO3–TiO2microspherical photocatalyst and its photogenerated charge properties

A series of SrTiO3–TiO2 microspheres with different porosities were prepared by a facile hydrothermal reaction method in the presence of Sr(OH)2 and titanium glycolate. The photogenerated charge separation and surface trapping process was studied by surface photovoltage (SPV) spectra and corresponding phase spectra. Compared with one-dimension nanowires, the SrTiO3–TiO2 microspheres show structural advantage in photocatalytic degradation under visible-light. The enhanced photocurrent of Rhodamine B (RhB) sensitized SrTiO3–TiO2 porous microspheres reveals that a photosensitization effect leads to the photodegradation process. According to the experimental results, these SrTiO3–TiO2 porous microspheres have great potential applications in photocatalytic decomposition or optoelectronic devices.