Comparison Study of Photocatalytic Properties of SrTiO3 and TiO2 Powders in Decomposition of Methyl Orange

Nano-SrTiO3 and TiO2 powders were synthesized using sol-gel method. The SrTiO3 and TiO2 powders were characterized using XRD, SEM, and spectrophotometry. XRD analysis indicated that the TiO2 powder was uniform anatase crystals of 9.9 nm and the SrTiO3 powders was cubic nano-crystal of 16.2nm. Photocatalytic experiments revealed that methyl orange in water can be decomposed on the two powders under sunlight irradiation. Benzyl groups in methyl orange can be fast decomposed on the SrTiO3 powders than on TiO2 powders although color peak was decreased in the reverse order. After irradiation of 4h, the decrease of the color peak and character peak of benzyl were respectively about 72% and 53% on the TiO2 powder; however, the decrease of the color peak and character peak of benzyl were respectively about 93% and 88% on the SrTiO3.