Synthesis of SnO_2 Nano Rods and Their Photocatalytic Properties

摘要

Ultra thin single crystalline SnO_2 nano rods were synthesized using a novel template free chemical method. The prepared SnO_2 nano rods were characterized using uv-visible and photoluminescence spectroscopy, BET, XRD, FE-SEM and TEM analysis techniques. The broad XRD peak confirms the formation of nano crystalline SnO_2 having tetragonal crystal structure. PL spectra exhibit the broad emission peak at 365 nm corresponding to the band edge excitation. FE-SEM indicates the formation of SnO_2 nanostructures having size less than 10 nm. TEM confirms the formation of rod like morphology having diameter 4±1 nm and length around 6 to 10 nm. The observed BET surface area for the SnO_2 nanorods is 134 m~2/gm and this higher surface area exhibits excellent ability to remove organic pollutant from wastewater by enormous surface adsorption. The photocatalytic activity of prepared SnO_2 was studied by observing the degradation of aqueous methylene blue (MB) dye. The rate constant observed for photocatalytic MB degradation using SnO_2 was 5.4 × 10~(-2) min~(-1). The photocatalytic activity was compared with P-25 degussa TiO_2 under same reaction conditions.