Surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-triggered polarization of BaTiO3 layer on Ag nanocubes enhances photocatalytic degradation relative to piezocatalytic degradation

BaTiO3@Ag (BTO@Ag) nanocubes (NCs) were fabricated by the deposition of ferroelectric (FE) BTO layers on Ag NCs. It was found that Methylene Blue (MB) could be degraded by BTO@Ag NCs under visible light irradiation. Since visible light was able to pass through the BTO and excited surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of Ag NCs, which resulted in the surface polarization of BTO covered, thus reactive oxygen species (ROS) was generated by polarization charge on BTO surface to degrade MB. Meanwhile, it was observed that the photocatalytic performance of BTO@Ag NCs under visible light irradiation of 1 sun was comparable to the piezocatalytic performance of -298 W ultrasonic power by using an ultrasonic cleaner. Therefore, our finding may provide a novel way for pollutant degradation with lower energy consumption.