LiTaO3 photocatalysts having high water splitting activity in the absence of cocatalyst were synthesized using hydrothermal and solvothermal methods. The particle size of the hydrothermally synthesized LiTaO3 was 500-3000 nm, and the H-2 generation rate under ultraviolet irradiation without cocatalyst was as low as 8 mu mol/h. Conversely, LiTaO3 synthesized by the solvothermal method using acetone as the solvent showed high H-2 generation rate of over 600 mu mol/h. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area of the solvothermally synthesized LiTaO3 was 23.7 m(2)/g, and the particle size was 10-30 nm. In the long-term water splitting experiment on the LiTaO3 synthesized by the solvothermal method, the H-2 generation rates did not change for 30 d, and the catalytic turnover number was 510. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.