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Updated: Jan 21, 2026

A Fabrication and Measurement Method for a Flexible Ferroelectric Element Based on Van Der Waals Heteroepitaxy
Published on: April 8, 2018
Nano-Ferroelectric for High Efficiency Overall Water Splitting under Ultrasonic Vibration
Ran Su1, H Alex Hsain2, Ming Wu3
1College of Science, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang, 050018, China.
Abstract:
Piezocatalysis, converting mechanical vibration into chemical energy, has emerged as a promising candidate for water-splitting technology. However, the efficiency of the hydrogen production is quite limited. We herein report well-defined 10 nm BaTiO3 nanoparticles (NPs) characterized by a large electro-mechanical coefficient which induces a high piezoelectric effect. Atomic-resolution high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) and scanning probe microscopy (SPM) suggests that piezoelectric BaTiO3 NPs display a coexistence of multiple phases with low energy barriers and polarization anisotropy which results in a high electro-mechanical coefficient. Landau free energy modeling also confirms that the greatly reduced polarization anisotropy facilitates polarization rotation. Employing the high piezoelectric properties of BaTiO3 NPs, we demonstrate an overall water-splitting process with the highest hydrogen production efficiency hitherto reported, with a H2 production rate of 655 μmol g-1 h-1 , which could rival excellent photocatalysis system. This study highlights the potential of piezoelectric catalysis for overall water splitting.
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