Hydrothermal synthesis of surfactant assisted Zn doped SnO2 nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic performance and energy storage performance

Abstract

Bare and Zn doped SnO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by hydrothermal method using Sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) as a capping agent. The structural, morphological and optical properties of the synthesized NPs were examined using XRD, FTIR, HRSEM, TEM, UV–visible DRS and PL. The XRD results indicated a good crystallinity of the sample and confirmed the tetragonal structure, and well agreed with the results of TEM. The chemical bondings of Sn–O–Sn functional group were confirmed by FTIR absorption peaks appearing at 650 cm−1. The spherical like morphology was observed in HRSEM analysis. EDS spectra confirmed the presence of elements Sn, Zn and O. Further, the optical band gaps of doped NPs were decreased due to the effect of band gap shrinkage. The photocatalytic performance of the doped NPs was tested by the degradation of Methyl violet (MV) under sunlight. Compared to the bare and SHMP assisted SnO2 photocatalysts, the doped NPs showed enhanced photocatalytic activities. In addition, the electrochemical performance of the doped NPs was investigated by CV, GCD and EIS studies. The results of capacitance behavior revealed the improved capacitance performance for SnO2 on Zn doping. The obtained results confirmed that this material is promising candidate for photocatalytic and supercapacitor application.