Enhanced piezotronics by single-crystalline ferroelectrics for uniformly strengthening the piezo-photocatalysis of electrospun BaTiO<sub>3</sub>@TiO<sub>2</sub> nanofibers
Bi Fu, Jianjie Li, Huaide Jiang, Xiaoli He, Yanmei Ma, Jingke Wang, Chaoyang Shi, Chengzhi Hu
Abstract
nanoparticles. Such a high piezo-photocatalytic activity is attributed to the enhancement of the piezotronic effect by the single-crystalline ferroelectric nanoparticles and the nanoconfinement effect caused by the one-dimensional boundary of nanofibers with high specific surface areas. The mechanically induced uniform local built-in electric fields originated from the single-crystalline ferroelectric nanoparticles can enhance the separation of photogenerated electron and hole pairs and promote the formation of free hydroxyl radicals, resulting in a strong piezotronic effect boosted photochemical degradation of organic dye. This work introduces the single-crystalline ferroelectrics to construct ferroelectric/oxide semiconductor heterojunctions, and the enhanced local piezotronic effect uniformly strengthens the photochemical reactivity, which offers a new option to design high-efficiency piezo-photocatalysts for pollutant treatment.