Publication date: 23rd September 2021
Photoelectrocatalysis as a powerful tool can be used for energy conversion and environmental redemption. However, current photoelectrocatalytic efficiency of the semiconductors is largely limited by the effective separation of photogenerated charge carriers. The introduction of a built-in electric field induced by polarization of ferroelectric materials is an efficient way to modulate the migration behavior of charge carriers. In this work, a core-shell TiO2@BaTiO3 heterostructure has been proposed for higher photoelectrocatalytic performance by ferroelectric effect under external electric field. To better understand the effect of ferroelectric polarization on the photoelectrocatalysis efficiency of the heterostructures, we also constructed BaTiO3 with different crystalline phases. The difference in photoelectrocatalytic reactivity of these samples was investigated through photoelectrochemical (PEC) test. This work will provide an efficient strategy to design high performance photoelectrochemical systems.