Utilization of low-power vibrational energy for hydrogen (H2) production via piezocatalysis has attracted increasing attention. However, the relatively low efficiency of barium titanate (BaTiO3, BT)-based piezocatalysts for water splitting remains a critical challenge. This study presents a nanoscale surface-engineering strategy to enhance piezocatalytic water splitting by constructing a well-defined core–shell architecture using BT nanocubes and a polydopamine (PDA) shell. In this strategy, BT nanocubes with an intrinsic piezoelectric response are synthesized via a one-step solvothermal method, and subsequently their surfaces are modified with a polydopamine (PDA) surface layer. The optimized PDA-modified BT exhibits an H2 production rate of 1125 μmol·g–1·h–1 during water splitting under ultrasonic vibration, representing a 3.3 times higher rate than pristine BT. Raman spectroscopy and piezoresponse force microscopy confirm the existence of a local noncentrosymmetric structure and intrinsic piezoelectric response in the nanosized BT nanocubes. The reduced electrical impedance further demonstrates that PDA modification significantly improves the efficiency of the piezo-induced carrier separation and migration. This work highlights nanoscale interfacial engineering of conductive polymer shells as an effective strategy for designing advanced piezocatalytic nanomaterials for sustainable energy applications.
Cao et al. (2026) studied this question.