Enhancing the photocatalytic performance of surface - Treated SnO2 hierarchical nanorods against methylene blue dye under solar irradiation and biological degradation

Surfactant-treated tin oxide (SnO2) hierarchical nanorods were successfully synthesized through hydrothermal technique. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed the prepared SnO2 possesses tetragonal rutile structure having appreciable crystallinity with crystallite sizes in the range of 110 nm-120 nm. UV-visible diffuse reflectance absorption spectra confirm that the better visible light absorption band of SnO2 hierarchical nanomds have red shift compared to the pure SnO2. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study evident that the as-prepared SnO2 nanorods encompass the characteristic bands of SnO2 nanostructures. The morphological analyses of prepared materials were performed by FESEM, which shows that hierarchal nanorods and complex nanostructures. EDX analyses disclose all the samples are composed of Sn and O elements. The photocatalytic performance of the prepared surfactant treated SnO2 hierarchical nanorods was evaluated using methylene blue (MB) dye removal under direct natural sunlight. Recycling experiment results of CTAB - SnO2 nanorods and photocatalytic reaction mechanism also discussed in detail.

Automated summary

Surfactant-treated tin oxide (SnO2) hierarchical nanorods were successfully synthesized through hydrothermal technique. Analysis results showed that the prepared SnO2 possessed tetragonal rutile structure with good crystallinity and red-shifted visible light absorption band compared to pure SnO2. The as-prepared SnO2 nanorods showed characteristic bands of SnO2 nanostructures, and the morphological analyses revealed hierarchical nanorods and complex nanostructures. The photocatalytic performance of the surfactant-treated SnO2 hierarchical nanorods was evaluated using methylene blue dye removal under direct natural sunlight, and the recycling experiment results and photocatalytic reaction mechanism were also discussed in detail.