A Low Temperature Hydrothermal Synthesis of ZnO Doped SnO2 Nanoparticles with High Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

<em>The paper reports the preparation and photocatalytic activity of ZnO doped SnO₂ nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Their grain sizes are about 50-100 nm. The characterization results revealed that the synthesized nanoparticles possess just crystal phases of tetragonal rutile phase of SnO₂with high quantity and good crystallinity. The photocatalytic activity of this material was investigated for congo red removal from aqueous solution under UV light irradiation. It was shown that the use of ZnO doped SnO₂ nanoparticle as a photocatalyst has a better photocatalytic activity for degradation of congo red than SnO₂ or TiO₂ (anatase, particle size: 30 nm) alone. This good performance can be attributed to more charge separation; then the recombination of electrons and holes in ZnO doped SnO₂ nanoparticle is greatly suppressed. This is the reason that the ZnO doped SnO₂ nanoparticles possessed both higher photocatalytic oxidation and reduction activities than those of TiO₂ or SnO₂.</em>