TY - JOUR T1 - Concurrent synthesis of SnO/SnO2 nanocomposites and their enhanced photocatalytic activity JF - Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry Y1 - 2017 A1 - Roy, Animesh A1 - Arbuj, Sudhir A1 - Waghadkar, Yogesh A1 - Shinde, Manish A1 - Umarji, Govind A1 - Rane, Sunit A1 - Patil, Kashinath A1 - Gosavi, Suresh A1 - Chauhan, Ratna KW - Dye-degradation KW - Nanocomposite KW - Photocatalysis KW - tin oxide AB -

The SnO/SnO2 nanocomposites were synthesized using semisolvothermal reaction technique. These nanocomposites were prepared using different combination of solvents viz., ethanol, water, and ethylene glycol at 180 A degrees C for 24 h. The synthesized nanocomposites were analyzed with various characterization techniques. Structural analysis indicates the formation of tetragonal phase of SnO2 for the sample prepared in ethanol, whereas for other solvent combinations, the mixture of SnO and SnO2 having tetragonal crystal structures were observed. The optical study shows enhanced absorbance in the visible region for all the prepared SnO/SnO2 nanocomposites. The observed band gap was found to be in the range of 3.0 to 3.25 eV. Microstructural determinations confirm the formation of nanostructures having spherical as well as rod-like morphology. The size of nanoparticles in ethanol-mediated solvent was found to be in the range of 5 to 7 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis indicate the weight gain around 1.3 wt% confirming the conversion of SnO to SnO2 material. The photocatalytic activity of synthesized nanocomposites was evaluated by following the aqueous methylene blue (MB) degradation. The sample prepared in ethylene glycol-mediated solvent showed highest photoactivity having apparent rate constant (K-app) 0.62 x 10(-2) min(-1).

VL - 21 IS - 1 U3 - Foreign U4 - 2.509 ER -