Preparation of Ag-doped SrTiO3 by Gel-assisted solid state method: Microstructure evolution and photocatalytic performance

•Ag doped SrTiO3 were prepared by Gel-assisted Solid State Method.•Ag doped SrTiO3 during heat treatment conforms to the nucleation-growth mechanism.•The mechanism of the photocatalytic hydrogen production were revealed.•The photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of 1% Ag doping is 20.26 times of pure SrTiO3. In order to improve the photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of SrTiO3, Ag ions doped SrTiO3 was prepared in this work using Gel-assisted solid state method. The effect of Ag ions doping on the micro-structure of SrTiO3 was investigated and the nucleation-growth mechanism of Ag/SrTiO3 was revealed. Finally, the effect of Ag ions doping on the photocatalytic hydrogen production was systematically analyzed. The photocatalytic hydrogen production rate was 48.62 μmol/g/h at 1 % Ag ions doping, which was 20.26 times of that of pure SrTiO3. This work provided a low-temperature green preparation technology of high-efficiency Ag/SrTiO3 photocatalytic materials.