PVA‐Assisted Hydrothermal Synthesis of SrTiO ₃ Nanoparticles with Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity for Degradation of RhB

Strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 ) nanoparticles with different particle sizes have been synthesized successfully via a hydrothermal route with the help of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The as‐synthesized SrTiO 3 nanoparticles were characterized by X‐ray diffraction, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the particle size and the Sr/Ti molar ratio of the as‐synthesized samples decreased with increasing PVA concentration, accompanied by an increase in the specific surface area. When the PVA concentration was no <1.6 g/L, the Sr/Ti molar ratios of the as‐synthesized samples were <1, indicating that a strontium vacancy (V Sr ) formed. Their photocatalytic activities were investigated through the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation (λ=200–400 nm). The results indicated that the photocatalytic activities of the PVA‐assisted hydrothermally synthesized nanocrystalline SrTiO 3 powders were higher than that of the sample prepared without PVA. The highest photocatalytic activity was obtained for the sample prepared with an intermediate PVA concentration, arising from the combined effect of the particle size, specific surface area, V Sr formation, and the adsorption capacity.