Pyroelectric Synthesis of Metal–BaTiO3 Hybrid Nanoparticles with Enhanced Pyrocatalytic Performance

This paper presents a pyroelectric approach for the synthesis of metal–BaTiO3 hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) and demonstrates the enhanced performance on the degradation of dye solution using such hybrid NPs. During the synthesis process, rapid temperature oscillation accelerated the electron generation at the surface of pyroelectric barium titanate (BTO) NPs that were dispersed in either aqueous or nonaqueous solutions. These generated electrons were used to reduce the metal salts on the surface of BTO NPs without the need for a reducing reagent. The Au–BTO hybrid NPs synthesized by such approach showed higher pyrocatalytic degradation efficiency for dye solution than the physically mixed solutions of Au NPs and BTO NPs. Compared to conventional processes, this pyrocatalytic approach without the need for additional reducing reagents not only offers an alternative strategy for the synthesis of metal–pyroelectric hybrid materials but also opens a new way to harvest thermal energy for efficient pyrocatalysis process.