Formation and photocatalytic activity of BaTiO<inf>3</inf> nanocubes via hydrothermal process

We reported a facile hydrothermal approach to synthesize BaTiO3 nanocubes with controlled sizes for degradation of methylene blue (MB). The nanocubes with reaction time of 48 hours exhibited the highest photocatalytic efficiency, owing to their narrower size distribution and better crystallinity compared to those of 24 hours and, at the meantime, smaller particle size than those of 72 hours. This work also demonstrated the degradation of methylene orange (MO) using BaTiO3 nanocubes synthesized for 48 hours. Compared with the removal of MB, BaTiO3 had lower photocatalytic activity on MO, mainly due to the poorer absorption behavior of MO on the surface of BaTiO3 nanocubes. The degradation efficiency for each photocatalytic reaction was calculated. The possible mechanism of the photocatalytic decomposition on MB has been addressed as well