Visible-light-driven SnO 2 /TiO 2 nanotube nanocomposite for textile effluent degradation

• Published in: RSC advances 2015, Vol.5 (26), p.20424-20431
• Main Authors: Rajkumar, K., Vairaselvi, P., Saravanan, P., Vinod, V. T. P., Černík, Miroslav, Rajendra Kumar, R. T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2046-2069; 2046-2069
• DOI: 10.1039/C4RA13434F

Nanocomposite of SnO 2 /TiO 2 nanotube (NT) was prepared by a simple two-step procedure, viz. , hydrothermal preparation of TiO 2 NT followed by chemical precipitation of SnO 2 nanoparticle sensitized TiO 2 NT. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that the as-synthesized TiO 2 NTs exhibit a diameter of 20–30 nm and a length of 1–2 μm with a wall thickness of 2–5 nm. The particle size of SnO 2 nanoparticles in the composite was estimated to be 4–6 nm. Both the TiO 2 NT and SnO 2 /TiO 2 NT composite were considered for the photocatalytic degradation of textile dye effluent under UV and sunlight irradiation. The SnO 2 /TiO 2 NT composite showed improved degradation efficiency. Photoluminescence spectra of SnO 2 /TiO 2 NT composites showed a decrease in intensity when compared to the TiO 2 NT – revealing that the rate of recombination is reduced in the SnO 2 /TiO 2 NT composite, which is responsible for larger photocatalytic activity. Further, an effluent degradation efficiency of 85% was obtained for the SnO 2 /TiO 2 NT composite under sunlight irradiation and this can be considered as one of the best values achieved so far.