Enhanced Photoactivity from Single-Crystalline SrTaO2N Nanoplates Synthesized by Topotactic Nitridation

There are few methods yielding oxynitride crystals with defined shape, yet shape-controlled crystals often give enhanced photoactivity. Herein, single-crystalline SrTaO2N nanoplates and polyhedra are achieved selectively. Central to these synthetic advances is the crystallization pathways used, in which single-crystalline SrTaO2N nanoplates form by topotactic nitridation of aerosol-prepared Sr2Ta2O7 nanoplates and SrTaO2N polyhedra form by flux-assisted nitridation of the nanoplates. Evaluation of these materials for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) showed improved performance for the SrTaO2N nanoplates, with a record apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 6.1% for OER compared to the polyhedra (AQE: 1.6%) and SrTaO2N polycrystals (AQE:0.6%). The enhanced performance from the nanoplates arises from their morphology and lower defect density. These results highlight the importance of developing new synthetic routes to high quality oxynitrides.