2 research outputs found
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Morphological effects on the photocatalytic properties of SnO<inf>2</inf> nanostructures
The photocatalytic properties of SnO2 nanocrystals are tuned by varying their morphology and microstructure. SnO2 nanoparticles and nanowedges have been synthesised using hydrothermal methods, while microwave irradiation techniques have given nanospheres. Detailed structural and chemical characterization of these different morphologies has been accomplished. The influence of SnO2 morphology on photocatalytic activity has been examined by monitoring the degradation of aqueous methylene blue dye. Results demonstrate that changing the morphology of the SnO2 modulates both surface area and levels of surface defects and that these alterations are reflected in the photocatalytic properties of the materials. The degradation of methylene blue dye (98%) in the presence of SnO2 nanoparticles under simulated solar irradiation is superior to previously reported photocatalyst performance and is comparable to that of standard TiO2 (Degussa P-25). The SnO2 nanoparticles perform better than both the nanowedges and nanospheres and this is attributed to the number of surface defects available to the high surface area material. They also reveal outstanding recyclability and stability
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Reducing indium dependence by heterostructure design in SnO<inf>2</inf>鈥揑n<inf>2</inf>S<inf>3</inf> nanocomposites
Toxic organics like dyes represent a major and growing source of environmental contamination. A promising method to remedy this uses semiconductors to catalytically photodegrade the stable bonds in these molecules. Heterostructured photocatalysts composed of two different semiconductors can overcome problems of fast electron-hole recombination and inefficient light harvesting whilst reducing dependency on either component individually. In this work, SnO2 nanowedges have been surface-modified with In2S3 nanoparticles to produce mSnO2-nIn2S3 (m:n = 1:2, 1:1, 2:1) heterostructures. The injection, by In2S3, of photoelectrons into the conduction band of SnO2, is argued to enhance charge stabilization and exciton lifetime. The photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) consequently reveals these nanocomposites to outperform their individual SnO2 and In2S3 components and industry standard TiO2. Sensitization of the SnO2 is explained by a strong type-II effect. The effects of varying SnO2:In2S3 are studied, leading us to propose a charge separation mechanism that explains why the nanocomposite containing the least photosensitizer (2SnO2-In2S3) offers the best photocatalysis per unit mass In.Royal Societ