Abstract
The SnO2 and SnO2/rGO nanostructures were successfully synthesized using the facile hydrothermal synthesis technique. The prepared nanostructures were well studied using different techniques such as XRD, XPS, UV-DRS, FT-IR, EDX, SEM and HR-TEM analysis. The crystalline nature of SnO2 and SnO2/rGO was confirmed by the XRD technique. The formation of highly pure SnO2 and SnO2/rGO nanostructures was confirmed by EDX analysis. The morphological results show the good agglomeration of several spherical nanoparticles. The optical properties were studied through the UV-DRS technique and the bandgap energies of SnO2 and SnO2/rGO are estimated to be 3.12 eV and 2.71 eV, respectively. The photocatalytic degradation percentage in presence of SnO2 and SnO2/rGO against RhB was found to be 96% and 98%, respectively. The degradation of TTC molecules was estimated as 90% and 88% with SnO2/rGO and SnO2, respectively. The degradation of both RhB and TTC molecules was well suited with the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The results of successive experiments clearly show the enhancement in the photocatalytic properties in the SnO2/rGO nanostructures.
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•SnO2 and SnO2/rGO were successfully synthesized using hydrothermal technique.•Visible light absorption ability of SnO2 and SGO is confirmed by UV-DRS analysis.•Photocatalytic activity of SnO2 and SnO2/rGO was studied against Rhodamine B and Tetracycline.•Photocatalytic degradation mechanism is proposed based on optical properties and band edge positions.