Novel SrTiO3/NaTaO3 and visible-light-driven SrTiO3/NaTaO3:N nano-heterojunctions with high interface-lattice matching for efficient photocatalytic removal of organic dye

SrTiO3/NaTaO3 (STO/NTO) heterojunction photocatalysts were successfully constructed by decorating NaTaO3 nanocubes with SrTiO3 nanoparticles via a hydrothermal method. The structure of the perovskites NaTaO3 and SrTiO3 bear some resemblance to each other, which increases the interface lattice match for promoting the migration of photogenerated carriers between the STO/NTO interfaces. In comparison to pristine NaTaO3 and SrTiO3 samples, the STO/NTO composites exhibited remarkably improved capacity for the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under ultraviolet (UV) light (λ 400 nm). Finally, the possible band structures of the STO/NTO and STO/NTON photocatalysts were proposed, which indicated that an n–n type heterojunction was constructed with a staggered gap for fast separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs.