Controlled synthesis of flower-like CaTiO3 and effects of morphology on its photocatalytic activities

CaTiO3 structure with flower-like morphology was prepared by a template-free and surfactant-free solvothermal process in an ethanol-H2O mixed solvent. The possible growth of flower-like structure was discussed based on the experimental results. During this process, PVP and NaOH affected drastically the kinetics of crystal growth and morphology of CaTiO3. NaOH played a crucial role in the formation of CaTiO3 flower-like structure without surfactant. A diffusion-limited and etching growth mechanism was proposed to elucidate the formation of CaTiO3 flower-like structure. Experiment results indicated that the as-synthesized flower-like morphology exhibited higher photocatalytic activities for RhB evolution than those of the “cross” cubic and prism-like structures, which was attributed to the special flower-like structure morphology. The electrochemical property of flower-like morphology was investigated through the cyclic voltammogram (CV) measurement.