The photocatalytic performance study of La doping AgNbO₃ by electronic structure and the carrier lifetime

AgNbO₃ semiconductor have attracted much attention due to its unique visible-light photosensitivity. The first-principles calculations were used to investigate the relationship among the structural evolution, electronic structure, optical properties and carrier lifetime of La doped Ag_1-xLa_xNbO₃. The addition of La enlarges the cell volume and inhibits the lattice distortion, which promotes the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. After La doping, the La 4d state gradually extends to the fermi level, resulting in more electrons to participate in the reduction reaction. The light absorption of Ag_1-xLa_xNbO₃ at visible range and the utilization capacity of sunlight are enhanced. The m_e* of Ag_1-xLa_xNbO₃ is reduced, which is conducive to the charge transfer and guarantees the electronic mobility and carrier lifetime in the compound. Our study demonstrats that La doping can effectively improve the photocatalytic performance of AgNbO₃, which provides a reference for the experimental research of photocatalytic water decomposition.