The enhancement of photocatalytic performance of SrTiO(3) nanoparticles via combining with carbon quantum dots

Carbon quantum dots were prepared by a simple chemical process using activated carbon as carbon source. The as-prepared carbon quantum dots are fine with a narrow size distribution and show excellent hydrophilicity. The carbon quantum dots were combined with SrTiO(3) nanoparticles through a simple impregnation process to obtain a carbon quantum dots/SrTiO(3) nanocomposite. The photocatalytic reaction rate of carbon quantum dots/SrTiO(3) nanocomposite is about 5.5 times as large as that of pure SrTiO(3) in the degradation of rhodamine B under sunlight irradiation. The enhanced performance in the degradation of rhodamine B may be attributed to the interfacial transfer of photogenerated electrons from SrTiO(3) to carbon quantum dots, leading to effective charge separation in SrTiO(3). Carbon quantum dots show potential applications in high-efficiency photocatalyst design.