SnO2/α-Fe2O3 nanoheterostructure with novel architecture: structural characteristics and photocatalytic properties

SnO2/alpha-Fe2O3 nanoheterostructures with novel architecture are fabricated by a facile two-step hydrothermal process. The composite products exhibit morphology with six-fold symmetry resulting from the heteronucleation and crystallographically-oriented growth of SnO2 nanorods on the regular surfaces of the hollowed alpha-Fe2O3 nanoprisms. The visible photocatalytic properties of the SnO2/alpha-Fe2O3 nanoheterostructures are found to be superior to their components, attributed to the charge separation effect of the hetero-interfaces between the SnO2 and alpha-Fe2O3 phases.