Site-selected doping of upconversion luminescent Er3+ into SrTiO3 for visible-light-driven photocatalytic H2 or O2 evolution.

A series of upconversion luminescent erbium-doped SrTiO(3) (ABO(3)-type) photocatalysts with different initial molar ratios of Sr/Ti have been prepared by a facile polymerized complex method. Er(3+) ions, which were gradually transferred from the A to the B site with increasing Sr/Ti, enabled the absorption of visible light and the generation of high-energy excited states populated by upconversion processes. The local internal fields arising from the dipole moments of the distorted BO(6) octahedra promoted energy transfer from the high-energy excited states of Er(3+) with B-site occupancy to the host SrTiO(3) and thus enhanced the band-to-band transition of the host SrTiO(3). Consequently, the erbium-doped SrTiO(3) species with B-site occupancy showed higher photocatalytic activity than those with A-site occupancy for visible-light-driven H(2) or O(2) evolution in the presence of the corresponding sacrificial reagents. The results generally suggest that the introduction of upconversion luminescent agents into host semiconductors is a promising approach to simultaneously harnessing low-energy photons and maintaining redox ability for photocatalytic H(2) and O(2) evolution and that the site occupancy of doped elements in ABO(3)-type perovskite oxides greatly determines the photocatalytic activity.