SrTiO3 doped with Al and treated with SrCl2 flux showed an apparent quantum efficiency of 30% at 360 nm in the photocatalytic overall water splitting reaction.

Poly(triazine imide) was synthesized with incorporation of Li(+) and Cl(-) ions (PTI/Li(+)Cl(-)) to form a carbon nitride derivative. The synthesis of this material by the temperature-induced condensation of dicyandiamide was examined both in a eutectic mixture of LiCl-KCl and without KCl. On the basis of X-ray diffraction measurements of the synthesized materials, we suggest that a stoichiometric amount of LiCl is necessary to obtain the PTI/Li(+)Cl(-) phase without requiring the presence of KCl at 873 K. PTI/Li(+)Cl(-) with modification by either Pt or CoO(x) as cocatalyst photocatalytically produced H(2) or O(2), respectively, from water. The production of H(2) or O(2) from water indicates that the valence and conduction bands of PTI/Li(+)Cl(-) were properly located to achieve overall water splitting. The treatment of PTI/Li(+)Cl(-) with [Pt(NH(3))(4)](2+) cations enabled the deposition of Pt through ion exchange, demonstrating photocatalytic activity for H(2) evolution, while treatment with [PtCl(6)](2-) anions resulted in no Pt deposition. This was most likely because of the preferential exchange between Li(+) ions and [Pt(NH(3))(4)](2+) cations.

A B S T R A C TThe effects of the morphology-change of SrTiO 3 particles on the behavior of photogenerated charge carriers are studied by time-resolved absorption (TA) spectroscopy from the visible to mid-IR region. In the case of as-purchased defect-rich commercial SrTiO 3 particles, most of the charge carriers are deeply trapped, showing a transient absorption peak at 11,000 cm À1 . Scanning electron microscopy reveals that the irregular-shaped primary particles are heavily aggregated and that the photocatalytic activity for the water splitting reaction is negligibly small. However, when this powder is flux-treated by SrCl 2 , fine cubic SrTiO 3 crystals exposing well-defined surfaces are formed and the photocatalytic activity is greatly improved. TA measurements show that the spectral shape is changed dramatically: the number of deeply trapped electrons is reduced, and that of shallowly trapped electrons producing the absorption band at 2500 cm À1 is increased. The change in electron trap depth, observed upon flux treatment, is due to the decrease in the number of defects. We also found that further flux treatment in an Al 2 O 3 crucible (i) induces Al doping into SrTiO 3 , (ii) enhances the photocatalytic activity, (iii) changes the spectral shape, and (iv) prolongs the lifetime of shallowly trapped electrons. The increase in photocatalytic activity is presumably due to the change in lifetime.

A photoanode prepared from flux-synthesized Al-doped SrTiO3 by the particle transfer method with a Ta contact layer exhibited a high IPCE of 69% at 320 nm. The photocatalytic activity of SrTiO3 particles was very sensitive to the synthesis method used to make the SrTiO3 particles, while its photoelectrochemical performance was not.