BaSnO3 Nanoparticles as Blue Emitting Phosphor and Efficient Photocatalyst

BaSnO3 has been studied for photovoltaic application for many decades in addition to its popular dielectric studies. However, a complete investigation of its remarkable optical properties may groom this novel perovskite as multipurpose system covering wide variety of optical and electrical applications. In this regard, few studies have been dedicated to investigate its photoluminescence properties. In this work nanocubes of BaSnO3 were prepared in simple solid-state reaction. X-ray diffraction studies, field emission scanning electron microscopic studies and energy dispersive X-ray studies confirmed its structural purity, cube like morphology and proper composition respectively. The optical band gap of this system was studied in detail to determine its band gap which was found to be in UV range. The samples were then excited with UV photons to study its luminescence response. The persistent nature of its luminescence response was confirmed from time resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) study which showed that the as synthesized samples were able to emit persistent blue radiation for duration similar to 1.4 microseconds indicating its future application in emerging LED sector. Using the UV excitation phenomenon, the sample was subjected to undergo water disinfection test to remove methylene blue. A moderate degradation performance with degradation rate constant similar to 0.02 min(-1) was observed for the sample which uncovers potential multifunctional nature of this novel perovskite.