NaNbO3 Nanostructures: Facile Synthesis, Characterization, and Their Photocatalytic Properties

NaNbO3 nanowires and cubes were synthesized by means of a facile surfactant-assisted hydrothermal process. The NaNbO3 nanowires were single-crystalline and showed uniform size with a diameter of about 100 nanometers in width and length of up to several tens of micrometers in length. The NaNbO3 cubes displayed edges of several hundred nanometers. Meanwhile, the possible growth mechanism of NaNbO3 nanowires was proposed. In addition, the photocatalytic activities of the NaNbO3 samples were evaluated for the H-2 evolution from CH3OH/H2O solution under UV light irradiation. Compared with the cubes-NaNbO3 and a NaNbO3 sample prepared by solid state reaction method, NaNbO3 nanowires showed a much higher photocatalytic activity.