Acta Physica Sinica, Volume. 69, Issue 12, 127706-1(2020)

Research progress and prospects of photocatalytic devices with perovskite ferroelectric semiconductors

Zong-Yang Cui1, Zhong-Shuai Xie1, Yao-Jin Wang1, Guo-Liang Yuan1、*, and Jun-Ming Liu2
Author Affiliations
  • 1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
  • 2National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, School of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
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    There are two types of perovskites, i.e. ABO3-type oxides and ABX3-type (X = F, Cl, Br and I) halides. Both of them exhibit rich physical properties and excellent photoelectric properties, such as ferroelectric and photocatalytic properties. In this paper we introduce the methods of preparing the ferroelectric semiconductors (i.e. BiFeO3 and MAPbI3) and their heterogeneous junctions for photocatalytic applications, and summarizes the research progress and applications of photocatalytic devices. Various researches about oxide photocatalytic devices have been carried out. At first, several methods have been developed to absorb more visible light, such as reducing the band gap of ferroelectric materials, preparing junction composed of ferroelectric layer and light absorption layer with narrow-bandgap semiconductor, and growing nanosheet, nanorods or other nanostructures with large specific surface areas. Second, some electric fields are introduced to effectively separate light activated electron-holes pairs. In addition to the external electric field, an inner electric field can be introduced through the ferroelectric polarization perpendicular to the surface and/or the energy band bending at the ferroelectric/semiconductor interface. Thirdly, the degradation of dyes, the decomposition of water into hydrogen and the conversion of CO2 into fuel have been realized in many photocatalytic or photoelectrocatalytic devices. Fourthly, the synergies of ferroelectric, pyroelectric and piezoelectric effects can largely increase the photocatalytic efficiency and the energy conversion efficiency. Furthermore, MAPbI3 and other halogen perovskites show excellent semiconductor properties, such as the long carrier diffusion length and long minority carrier lifetime which may originate from ferroelectric dipoles. The MAPbI3 can be applied to photocatalytic devices with a high energy conversion efficiency by optimizing the photocatalytic multi-layer structure and adding a package layer that prevents electrolyte for decomposing the MAPbI3. Finally, we analyze the challenges of the high-efficiency photocatalytic devices and look forward to their application prospects.

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    Zong-Yang Cui, Zhong-Shuai Xie, Yao-Jin Wang, Guo-Liang Yuan, Jun-Ming Liu. Research progress and prospects of photocatalytic devices with perovskite ferroelectric semiconductors[J]. Acta Physica Sinica, 2020, 69(12): 127706-1

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    Paper Information

    Received: Feb. 25, 2020

    Accepted: --

    Published Online: Dec. 8, 2020

    The Author Email:

    DOI:10.7498/aps.69.20200287

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