Novel Au/La-SrTiO3 microspheres: superimposed effect of gold nanoparticles and lanthanum doping in photocatalysis

Novel multielement Au/La-SrTiO(3) microspheres were synthesized by a solvothermal method using monodisperse gold and La-SrTiO(3) nanocrystals as building blocks. The porous Au/La-SrTiO(3) microspheres had a large surface area of 94.6 m(2)  g(-1). The stable confined Au nanoparticles demonstrated strong surface plasmon resonance effect, leading to enhanced absorption in a broad UV/Vis/NIR range. Doping of rare-earth metal La also broadened the absorption band to the visible region. Both the conduction and valence bands of Au/La-SrTiO(3) microspheres thus show favorable potential for proton reduction under visible light. The superimposed effect of Au nanoparticles and La doping in Au/La-SrTiO(3) microspheres led to high photocurrent density in photoelectrochemical water splitting and good photocatalytic activity in photodegradation of rhodamine B. The photocatalytic activities are in the order of the following: Au/La-SrTiO(3) microspheres>Au/SrTiO(3) microspheres>La-SrTiO(3) microspheres>SrTiO(3) microspheres.