Enlargement of photocatalytic efficiency of BaSnO3 by indium doping for thiophene degradation

BaSnO3 nanorods were produced by a sol-gel mode. Indium, as dopant, was introduced to the surface of BaSnO3 via photo-assisted deposition technique. Phase composition, microstructure and surface area of the synthesized samples were identified via X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and BET techniques, respectively. State of element, band gap energy and position of emission energy were measured via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and photoluminescence emission spectra (Pl), respectively. Furthermore, the catalytic performance of both BaSnO3 and In/BaSnO3 specimens was implemented for photocatalytic destruction of thiophene solution via visible light irradiation. XPS results displayed the patterns corresponding to the In-In at about 443.8 eV, illustrating the presence of indium metal in a nano-sized scale. A red shift was observed after indium loading within the BaSnO3 lattice which was proved via the UV-Vis analysis. 100% oxidation efficiency percent was attained using 0.3 wt% In/BaSnO3 photocatalyst after 1 h reaction time. The enhancement of the photocatalytic activity was mainly attributed to the indium doping into BaSnO3 as a result of its capability to hinder the e(-)-h(+) re-combination. The catalyst was reused up to five cycles without any change in its efficiency.