Significantly enhanced UV-light-driven photocatalytic performance of ferroelectric (K0.5Na0.5)NbO3: Effect of corona-poling and particle size

This work focuses on the effect of corona-poling and particle size on photocatalytic performance of (K0.5Na0.5) NbO3 (KNN) ferroelectric powder synthesized by solid-state reaction (sample abbreviated as KNN-cera) and sol-gel (sample abbreviated as KNN-nano) techniques. Results show that degradation efficiencies of RhB solution under UV light irradiation with ferroelectric KNN-cera (average particle size: 1.21 mu m) and KNN-nano (average particle size: 0.197 mu m) poled under 1.5 kV/mm field were 89.5% and 96.5% whereas for unpoled KNN-cera and KNN-nano samples it was 29.4% and 86.09% respectively. The KNN-nano sample has shown better photocatalytic activity due to smaller size of the calcined powder. Corona poling treatment given to the synthesized powder displays a great influence on the photocatalytic activity due to enhancement in internal polarization field that makes photogenerated free electrons and holes move in the opposite directions, resulting in the spatial separation of free electrons and holes providing them with more time to participate in surface reactions. This helps in achieving better photocatalytic performance.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the impact of corona-poling and particle size on the photocatalytic performance of (K0.5Na0.5) NbO3 (KNN) ferroelectric powder. The results demonstrate that the KNN-nano sample, with smaller particle size, exhibits better photocatalytic activity. The corona-poling treatment enhances the internal polarization field, leading to spatial separation of photogenerated electrons and holes and thereby providing more time for surface reactions, resulting in improved photocatalytic performance.