Synthesis and characterization of SnO_2 nanoparticles using cochineal dye

摘要

This article presents a simple and inexpensive method for the synthesis of SnO_2 nanoparticles (SnO_2 NPs) in the presence of non-toxic cochineal dye. As-synthesized nanoparticles were confirmed by various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques such as UV-Visible, XRD, FTIR, DLS and TEM. UV-Visible spectroscopy showed λ_(max) for SnO_2 NPs at 350 nm and it remains stable for 3 months at room temperature. The XRD result confirms the simultaneous presence of orthorhombic SnO_2 (78%) and Sn (22%) nanoparticles. FTIR showed strong vibration at 543 and 598 cm~(-1) which corresponds to Sn-0 of SnO_2 NPs. The obtained TEM and DLS results stated the formation of the cube and spherical SnO_2 NPs with an average diameter of about 30-50 nm. These particles do not aggregate in suspension because their outer surface is protected by an organic layer of cochineal. Approximately 83% methylene blue dye was degraded photocatalytically by SnO_2 NPs within 180 min at a rate constant of 17.6001 × 10~(-3) min~(-1).