Abstract
Novel TiO2/Sn3O4 heterostructure photocatalysts were ingeniously synthesized via a scalable two-step method. The impressive photocatalytic abilities of the TiO2/Sn3O4 sphere nanocomposites were validated by the degradation test of methyl orange and •OH trapping photoluminescence experiments under ultraviolet (UV) and visible light irradiation, respectively. Especially under the visible light, the TiO2/Sn3O4 nanocomposites demonstrated a superb photocatalytic activity, with 81.2% of methyl orange (MO) decomposed at 30 min after irradiation, which greatly exceeded that of the P25 (13.4%), TiO2 (0.5%) and pure Sn3O4 (59.1%) nanostructures. This enhanced photocatalytic performance could be attributed to the mesopore induced by the monodispersed TiO2 cores that supply sufficient surface areas and accessibility to reactant molecules. This exquisite hetero-architecture facilitates extended UV-visible absorption and efficient photoexcited charge carrier separation.
Highlights
As a stable, low-cost and environmentally benign material, nanoscaled titanium dioxide (TiO2) with unique structural and functional properties has become a widely used semiconductor photocatalyst for various solar-driven clean energy technologies [1]
The photocatalytic activity of TiO2/Sn3O4 nanocomposites was evaluated via methyl orange (MO) degradation rate. 80 mL aqueous suspension of MO (20 mg/L) and 80 mg of photocatalyst powder were placed in a 100 mL beaker
Raman activities of 144, 196, 396, 520 and 638 cm−1 were assigned to the anatase TiO2 [23], and the 133, 143, 170 and 238 cm−1 Raman peaks could be attributed to the Sn3O4, in accordance with previous reports [7,24]
Summary
Low-cost and environmentally benign material, nanoscaled titanium dioxide (TiO2) with unique structural and functional properties has become a widely used semiconductor photocatalyst for various solar-driven clean energy technologies [1]. As a semiconductor with a relatively narrow band gap, pure Sn3O4 generally leads to a fast recombination of photoexcited electron-hole pairs, which decreases its degradation rate [9]. Discussing these problems together, it proposes an intriguing idea that Sn3O4, as the second component, attaches to the surface of TiO2 nanostructures, for an exquisite TiO2/Sn3O4 heterostructure. We developed a scalable two-step route, combining the sol-gel method and hydrothermal progress to achieve excellent visible and ultraviolet photocatalytic activity by uniformly synthesizing the Sn3O4 nanoparticles on the surface of TiO2 nanospheres. An enormous enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency was achieved by the distinctive TiO2/Sn3O4 nanocomposites
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