Preparation of Sn3O4 Modified Ti/Black TiO2 Electrode with Enhanced Photoelectrocatalytic Performance for Water Remediation

Bio-refractory wastewater from the dyeing and finishing process has become a critical environmental problem. Semiconductor photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) technology is one of the most effective methods to remove organic pollutants from effluents, while the performance of photoanodes can significantly affect degradation efficiency. Herein, novel heterostructure composite photoanodes were synthesized through assembling various amounts of Sn3O4 nanosheets on the hydrogenated TiO2 sheets to degrade the Reactive Brilliant Blue KN-R (RBB KN-R) solution. The hydrogenation expanded the optical absorption range improving the utilization of sunlight. And the incorporation of Sn3O4 nanosheets increases the electrochemically active area, promotes interfacial carrier transport, enhances interfacial carrier transport and facilitates the generation of reactive radicals during PEC. The composite electrode (Sn3O4-Ti/b-TiO2) showed excellent degradation performance over 85% degradation of (RBB KN-R within 120 min and quite stable in 5 degradation cycles, holding great promise in accelerated degradation of dyeing wastewater.

Automated summary

In this study, novel heterostructure composite photoanodes were successfully synthesized by assembling various amounts of Sn3O4 nanosheets on the hydrogenated TiO2 sheets, demonstrating excellent degradation performance and stability in the treatment of dyeing wastewater.