Sr2KTa5O15 nanorods with a tetragonal tungsten bronze structure were synthesized by a facile one-pot method using potassium chloride (KCl) as flux. Only the flux method obtained pure nanorods under the same calcination temperature and time comparing with that of solid-state reaction (SSR) and polymerized complex (PC) methods. The as-fabricated Sr2KTa5O15 nanorods with a Ag cocatalyst showed relatively high activity and good selectivity toward CO evolution in the photocatalytic conversion of CO2 by H2O. Stoichiometric amounts of O-2 as an oxidation product together with those of CO and H-2 as reduction products were obtained, indicating that H2O worked as an electron donor in the photocatalytic conversion of CO2. The Sr2KTa5O15 nanorods fabricated at 1173 K for 3 h in the mass ratio of KCl flux to precursors at 1.0 afforded the highest formation rate of CO evolution (65.5 mu mol h(-1)) and good selectivity toward CO evolution (88.7%). (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.