Niobium-Complex-Based Syntheses of Sodium Niobate Nanowires Possessing Superior Photocatalytic Properties

Sodium niobates with nanowire morphology (NaNbO(3)-NW) were synthesized in a large scale by use of a niobium oxooxalate complex as the starting material. This NaNbO(3)-NW showed definitely enhanced photocatalytic activity for H(2) or O(2) evolution in the presence of sacrificial reagents and an overall water splitting under UV-light irradiation, as compared with a bulky counterpart (NaNbO(3)-B). This is the first example that an overall water splitting into H(2) and O(2) proceeded on the semiconductor nanowire photocatalyst.