Oxygen vacancy engineering and rare earth ion modification in Er-doped Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–BaTiO3 for piezo-photocatalysis

The pursuit of high-performance piezo-photocatalysts through structural modifications has been a focal point of investigation within the realm of related scientific disciplines. In this study, we successfully designed Er-doped Bi 0.5 Na 0.5 TiO 3 –BaTiO 3 combined with rare earth ion doping and solid solution modification, and the prepared particles exhibited homogeneous grain sizes and optimized concentrations of oxygen vacancies ( O V ). The synergistic incorporation of O V (accelerator for catalytic reaction) and Er 3+ results in an impressive 12-fold enhancement of the piezo-photocatalytic rate when degrading the Rhodamine B dye. The optimal composition 0.96BNT-0.04BT-Er demonstrates outstanding electrochemical properties , including a superior photocurrent response and minimal impedance, highlighting its exceptional performance in piezo-photocatalysis. The fundamental enhancement in catalytic performance can be attributed to the reconfiguration of the band structure of 0.96BNT-0.04BT-Er, which has been meticulously calculated utilizing DRS and VB-XPS and the internal mechanism was explained in detail. This research serves as a source of inspiration for the investigation of solid solutions among piezo-photocatalysts and sheds light on the vital role of band structure in governing catalytic performance.