A facile method for access to high efficient piezo-photocatalytic synergy of Ba0.85Sr0.15TiO3 through tuning grain size, Curie temperature and energy band gap.

Piezo-catalysis represents a promising and environmentally-friendly technology for dye degradation, but the commonly used BaTiO 3 piezoelectric material still face bottleneck of relative low piezo-catalytic activity. Enhancement of its catalytic activity via diversified means is crucial for improving the degradation efficiency and implementation of water treatment. In this study, we synthesized Ba 1- x Sr x TiO 3 nanoparticles utilizing the sol-gel method. The highest catalytic performance for degrading rhodamine B is at x = 0.15 through the piezo-photocatalytic synergy, displaying a degradation rate of 92.66 % within 18 min and an impressive reaction rate of 14.26 × 10−2 min−1, surpassing most of other BaTiO 3 -based materials. Importantly, the nanoparticles exhibited excellent catalytic degradation performance for a variety of pollutants under different environments. In addition, it is confirmed that Sr2+ doping can enhance the catalytic efficiency via three pathways, i.e. modifying energy band gap, modulating grain size as well as Curie temperature. This work provides a convenient strategy for the rational regulation of catalytic performance in BaTiO 3 -based piezoelectric materials. [Display omitted] • Sr-doping in BaTiO 3 for simultaneous regulation of grain size, T c and energy band. • Piezo-photocatalysis achieves stronger synergic effect than single catalysis. • Various mechanisms work together to improve the catalytic performance. • Maintaining high catalytic activity in various conditions for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]