Novel SnO2-modified hydrozincite photocatalyst: Material design and application in efficient micropollutants degradation in wastewater

• Published in: Catalysis today 2024-05, Vol.433, p.114646, Article 114646
• Main Authors: Castillo Rodríguez, Julio Cesar, Sarabia Ruedas, Dafne Miroslava, Marco Buj, María Pilar, Bayarri, Bernardí, Giménez, Jaime, Tzompantzi Flores, Clara, Velásquez Torres, Mónica Esperanza, Pérez Hernández, Raúl, Tzompantzi-Morales, Francisco Javier
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Micropollutant degradation; Oxygen vacancies; ZnSn composites
• ISSN: 0920-5861; 1873-4308
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2024.114646

In this work novel photocatalysts have been synthesized based on hydrozincite and SnO2 with varying mol% of SnO2 in hydrozincite. The photocatalysts were prepared via chemical co-precipitation using thermal urea hydrolysis, without calcination or activation processes, and were applied in the photodegradation of micropollutants (in this case, several phenolic compounds). Characterization of the materials using various techniques revealed that the generation of hydroxyl radicals, holes, and superoxide radicals played crucial roles in the photodegradation process. The best photocatalyst was achieved with a 10 mol% SnO2 content in hydrozincite, which shows the highest rate in the pollutants degradation (higher than 93% in all the cases), also higher than TiO2-P25This study presents promising insights for developing highly efficient photocatalytic materials for environmental remediation applications. [Display omitted] •HDZn-Sn materials were synthesized easily and in one step.•Without calcining and without any activation process the materials have a high photocatalytic activity.•The presence of heterostructures, oxygen vacancies and electronic states reduces recombination between the h+e- pair.•The HDZn-Sn10 material was the best photocatalyst for contaminant degradation, surpassing the reference material TiO2-P25.