CuO/SnO2 Nanocomposite Thin Films: Effect of Solvent and Precursor on Optical and Structural Properties

Abstract

New materials nanocomposites were synthesized for the degradation of organic and inorganic pollutants. This study reviews CuO/SnO2 nanocomposite thin films for their photocatalytic effect. The latter were deposited using the spray pyrolysis method, which is a simple, cheapest and rapid technique. Different concentration ratios of precursors and solvent are used. The thin films were deposited on ordinary glass substrates heated to 550∘C from solutions of copper chloride and tin chloride as precursors. The optical and structural properties of nanocomposite thin films have been demonstrated, and the equi-percentage of the precursor combination shows the good bandgap energy according to the literature. Investigations of structural properties using (SEM, EDS, XRD and RAMAN) techniques depict the good agreement photocatalytic degradation according to the surface roughness, quantities of elements and the existence of phases which will be of interest to the photocatalytic of organic and inorganic pollutants in aqueous and gas media according to the huge specific area due to the roughness and heterogeneity.