Defect-poor BaSn(OH) enhanced charge separation for efficient photocatalytic degradation of toluene.

Crystal defect is well-known to have a significant effect on the photocatalytic performance of semiconductors. Herein, defect-rich and -poor BaSn(OH) (BSOH-Sn and BSOH-Ba) photocatalysts were synthesized by exchanging the addition order of Ba and Sn. Results show that the defect-poor BSOH-Ba exhibited more efficient toluene degradation under ultraviolet (UV) light, which could attribute to the great suppression of photogenerated electron-hole (e-h) pairs recombination by tuning the defect concentration. The low defect concentration in BSOH-Ba finally promotes the charge separation efficiency, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the photocatalytic toluene degradation reactions. This work not only provides an effective way to inhibit the recombination of photogenerated carriers and improve the photocatalytic performance, but also promotes the understanding of defective perovskite-type hydroxide for more photoreactions.