Ag activated SnO2 films for enhanced photocatalytic dye degradation against toxic organic dyes

In the present work, tin oxide and Ag doped tin oxide thin films were fabricated using jet nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique and the photocatalytic properties of the prepared samples were analyzed by studying the photodegradation of methylene blue dye under visible light. The rate constant value is 0.0254 and 0.0193 min(-1) for SnO2 and SnO2:Ag films, respectively. The results confirm that SnO2:Ag film exhibits better photocatalytic activity compared to SnO2 film. The XRD study shows that the film has tetragonal rutile structure of SnO2. The mechanism involved in the enhancement of the photocatalytic efficacy of the SnO2 film due to the addition of Ag is explained on the basis of photoluminescence, FESEM, AFM and optical studies.