Studies on structural and optical behavior of SnO2/CuMn2O4 nanocomposite developed via two-step approach for photocatalytic activity

In this current work, tin oxide (SnO2)/copper manganite (CuMn2O4) nanocomposite (NCs) were developed form the two step process. In this process, CuMn2O4 NPs were prepared by co precipitation approach and subsequently SnO2/CuMn2O4 NCs were synthesized via hydrothermal method. The crystalline phase structures of CuMn2O4 (face centered cubic) and SnO2 (tetragonal rutile structure) were reveals from the Power x-ray Diffraction (PXRD) pattern. The observed various range of functional groups in the CuMn2O4 and SnO2/CuMn2O4 NCs were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies. The surface morphology of the prepared material was primarily examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis and presence of elemental composition from the prepared material was investigated by the EDAX analysis. The photocatalytic performance of the prepared SnO2/CuMn2O4 NCs was evaluated from the organic dyes of Methylene Blue (MB) and Malachite Green (MG). The dye degradation efficiency of the prepared catalyst was achieved to be 90% and 88% against MG and MB dyes under sun light irradiation. These superior photocatalytic activity exhibits that the prepared SnO2/CuMn2O4 NCs is a potential candidate for waste water treatment.