Structural Engineering of Photocatalytic ZnO-SnO2-Fe2O3 Composites

Abstract

The ZnO-SnO2-Fe2O3 composites containing flower-like particles were prepared by the non-isothermal polymer-salt method. Thermochemical processes proceeding during composites synthesis was studied by DTA/TG method. The structure and morphology of obtained composites were studied by the SEM and XRD analysis. Prepared composites containing small amounts of SnO2 and Fe2O3 demonstrate the high adsorption and photodecomposition of the organic dye Rhodamine 6G in its solutions. Obtained materials show the ability of the photogeneration of the chemically active singlet oxygen under the visible irradiation. The synergistic effect of the flower structure and Fe2O3 doping can significantly improve the photocatalytic and adsorption activities.

Ceramic ZnO-SnO2-Fe2O3 Powders and Coatings -Effective Photogenerators of Reactive Oxygen Species

“…Photocatalytic materials are used in many different practical applications (water and air purification, sensors, water splitting, etc.) and are the object of intensive investigations [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Many oxide semiconductor materials are effective photocatalysts, demonstrate antibacterial activity and have an excellent thermal stability and chemical durability.…”

“…Ceramic materials (powders and coatings) based on ZnO are very effective photocatalysts [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] which have been successfully tested in industrial conditions [1]. Modification of the ZnO ceramic materials using other oxides additions provides a significant enhancement to its photocatalytic and bactericidal characteristics [3][4][5][6][7][8]. These additions decrease the size of ZnO crystals, modify the crystal structure and morphology of the ZnO ceramic materials and increase their specific surface areas.…”

“…Chemical composition, structure and morphology of photocatalysts determine the spectral diapason of the light which can excite a semiconductor material, its specific surface area, adsorption properties and photocatalytic activity. It was found [2,[6][7][8][9] that materials consisting of semiconductor nanoparticles with specific shapes, such as nanorods, nanowires and "flowers", exhibit high photocatalytic properties.…”

“…ZnO-SnO 2 ceramic materials are one of the most effective ZnO-based photocatalysts [3,4,7,28]. ZnO and SnO 2 have relatively high band gap values (3.37 and 3.6 eV, respectively [33]), and demonstrate high photocatalytic properties under UV irradiation [4,29].…”

“…Different approaches, such as the application of some additions (Ag [9,10,34], Co [29], etc.) or the structural engineering [7], have been developed to increase the photocatalytic properties of these materials in the visible spectral range.…”