Charge Carrier Dynamics in Sr-Doped NaTaO₃ Photocatalysts Revealed by Deep Ultraviolet Single-Particle Microspectroscopy

Abstract

Among various metal oxides, sodium tantalate (NaTaO3) is one of the best semiconductors for achieving efficient photocatalytic water splitting. However, the primary mechanism responsible for increasing the reaction rate up to an order of magnitude by specific metal doping and surface modification with co-catalysts has not been elucidated yet. In order to clarify the underlying mechanism, we explored the structure-dependent photoluminescence (PL) of pristine and Sr-doped NaTaO3 crystals at the (near) single-particle level using a time-resolved deep ultraviolet fluorescence microscope. Combined with transmission electron microscope techniques, the PL characteristics of individual particles were directly linked to the dopant concentrations in each particle, allowing us to unravel the complex effects of Sr-doping on the charge carrier dynamics. Furthermore, we investigated the photocatalytic reduction reaction for a single Sr-doped NaTaO3 particle to gain critical information related to dopant-driven electron migration, which is a key process for efficient photocatalysis.