Self‐Assembled LaFeO<sub>3</sub>/ZnFe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>4</sub>/La<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Ultracompact Hybrids with Enhanced Piezo‐Phototronic Effect for Oxygen Activation in Ambient Conditions
Lixuan Zhang, Kai Wang, Yanqi Jia, Liping Fang, Han Chen, Jiaquan Li, Zongping Shao, Xinyong Li, Jieshan Qiu, Shaomin Liu
Abstract
Abstract Piezoelectric polarization portrays a promising technology to regulate the photogenerated charge carrier separation and transfer behaviors, and the design of multifunctional catalysts with piezo‐phototronic effect is a key step. One strategy is to prepare a composite catalyst combining the ideal properties from each individual component. Herein, a facial dopant‐induced self‐assembling strategy is reported to fabricate an ultracompact nanocomposite (LaFeO 3 /ZnFe 2 O 4 /La 2 O 3 ) with enhanced efficiency for piezo‐photocatalysis. The composite is synthesized at 800 °C from the one‐pot method, thus the self‐constructed interface is created during multi‐phase formation, providing the intimate grain‐to‐grain contact between the semiconductive LaFeO 3 and piezoelectric ZnFe 2 O 4 /La 2 O 3 phases. In such a composite, a synergistic effect for oxygen activation is realized via the effective manipulation of the photogenerated charge carrier separation and spatial transportation through the vibration‐created piezopotential. A high piezoelectric coefficient (d 33 ) up to 826 pm V −1 and a superior H 2 O 2 yield of 403 µmol g −1 h −1 (in open air and pure water) are achieved on the optimized composite, outperforming most of the reported lead‐free piezo‐photocatalyst. The ultracompact composite is very robust without any decay in H 2 O 2 ‐delivering capability after many cyclic tests. This study provides a universal strategy for the rational design of high‐performance piezo‐photocatalysts.