SnO2-TiO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites: Green synthesis and enhanced photocatalytic efficiency for dye removal

Abstract

Titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) have been interested in potential applications, including gas-sensing, energy storage, environmental remediation, and medical fields. In the present work, fabricated SnO2-TiO2/RGO nanocomposites (NCs) have been produced through a green precipitation approach. XRD, TEM, SEM, EDX, XPS, FTIR, UV, and PL analyses have been carefully applied to invistage the physicochemical properties of prepared NPs and NCs. The XRD data showed that the crystal structure of the TiO2 NPs was affected by the introduction of SnO2 NPs and RGO sheets. The spherical shape of the prepared samples and their morphologies were confirmed using TEM and SEM images. EDX and XPS analyses confirmed that tin (Sn), titanium (Ti), oxygen (O), and carbon (C) were further present in the SnO2-TiO2/RGO NCs. FT-IR spectra determines the functional groups with bands between the compositions of obtained NPs and NCs. Besides, the band gap energies of prepares samples were estimated from UV–vis spectra. It displayed that the absorption peak of the synthesized TiO2 NPs was improved after the addition of SnO2 NPs and an RGO sheet. PL analysis indicate that the PL intensity of the prepared TiO2 NPs was decreased with the addition of SnO2 NPs and RGO sheets due to a decrease in the recombination rate of electrons (e−)-holes (h+). As shown in photocatalytic results, the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) dye of SnO2-TiO2/RGO NCs was reached 92.20% after 140 min of UV irradiation. These results suggest that the addition of RGO sheets occupied a role in enhanced the photocatalytic performance of the prepared NCs. This study highlighted that these samples could be applied in various applications such as photocatalytic and therapeutic areas.