Improved photodegradation activity of TiO2 via decoration with SnS2 nanoparticles

The particles of TiO2 modified with various amounts of SnS2 nanoparticles (TiO2/SnS2) were synthesized via the hydrothermal method by reacting SnCl4 center dot 5H(2)O with thioacetamide in 5% (vol.) acetic acid aqueous solution in the presence of TiO2. The obtained products were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, Xray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflection spectra, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The photodegradation activities of TiO2/SnS2 composites have been investigated by using methyl orange as target in water under the light irradiation of 250-400, 360-600 and 400-600 nm. It was found that the photodegradation activity of TiO2/SnS2 composites depended on the mass ratio of SnS2 and the wavelength of the irradiating light. The composites containing 33% SnS2 exhibited the maximum activity under the light irradiation of 250-400 and 360-600 nm. However, the more SnS2 in the composites, the higher activity appeared under the irradiation of 400-600 nm light. All the results reveal that the composites possess much better activity than the pristine TiO2 (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.