Enhancing the photocatalytic performance of surface - Treated SnO2 hierarchical nanorods against methylene blue dye under solar irradiation and biological degradation

V Perumal; C Inmozhi; R Uthrakumar; R Robert; M Chandrasekar; S Beer Mohamed; Shehla Honey; A Raja; Fahd A Al-Mekhlafi; K Kaviyarasu

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2022.112821

Enhancing the photocatalytic performance of surface - Treated SnO₂ hierarchical nanorods against methylene blue dye under solar irradiation and biological degradation

Environ Res. 2022 Jun:209:112821. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.112821. Epub 2022 Jan 28.

Authors

V Perumal¹, C Inmozhi², R Uthrakumar³, R Robert⁴, M Chandrasekar⁵, S Beer Mohamed⁶, Shehla Honey⁷, A Raja⁸, Fahd A Al-Mekhlafi⁹, K Kaviyarasu¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, Government Arts College (Autonomous), Salem, 636007, Tamil Nadu, India.
² Department of Physics, Government Arts College for Women , Salem, 636008, Tamil Nadu, India.
³ Department of Physics, Government Arts College (Autonomous), Salem, 636007, Tamil Nadu, India. Electronic address: uthraloyola@yahoo.com.
⁴ Department of Physics, Government Arts College for Men, Krishnagiri, 635001, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁵ Department of Physics, Periyar University, Salem, 636011, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁶ Department of Material Science, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, 610001, Tamil Nadu, India.
⁷ Centre for Nanosciences & Department of Physics, University of Okara, Okara, Pakistan; NPU-NCP Joint International Research Center on Advanced Nanomaterials and Defects Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710072, China; UNESCO-UNISA Africa Chair in Nanosciences/Nanotechnology Laboratories, College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa (UNISA), Muckleneuk Ridge, PO Box 392, Pretoria, South Africa.
⁸ Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, 38541, Republic of Korea.
⁹ Department of Zoology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ UNESCO-UNISA Africa Chair in Nanosciences/Nanotechnology Laboratories, College of Graduate Studies, University of South Africa (UNISA), Muckleneuk Ridge, PO Box 392, Pretoria, South Africa; Nanosciences African Network (NANOAFNET), Materials Research Group (MRG), iThemba LABS-National Research Foundation (NRF), 1 Old Faure Road, 7129, PO Box 722, Somerset West, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Electronic address: kavi@tlabs.ac.za.

PMID: 35092741
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.112821

Abstract

Surfactant -treated tin oxide (SnO₂) hierarchical nanorods were successfully synthesized through hydrothermal technique. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed the prepared SnO₂ possesses tetragonal rutile structure having appreciable crystallinity with crystallite sizes in the range of 110 nm-120 nm. UV-visible diffuse reflectance absorption spectra confirm that the better visible light absorption band of SnO₂ hierarchical nanorods have red shift compared to the pure SnO₂. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) study evident that the as-prepared SnO₂ nanorods encompass the characteristic bands of SnO₂ nanostructures. The morphological analyses of prepared materials were performed by FESEM, which shows that hierarchal nanorods and complex nanostructures. EDX analyses disclose all the samples are composed of Sn and O elements. The photocatalytic performance of the prepared surfactant treated SnO₂ hierarchical nanorods was evaluated using methylene blue (MB) dye removal under direct natural sunlight. Recycling experiment results of CTAB - SnO₂ nanorods and photocatalytic reaction mechanism also discussed in detail.

Keywords: Electron microscopy; Hydrothermal technique; Methylene blue dye; SnO(2) hierarchical nanorods photocatalytic activity; Surfactant treated SnO(2).

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Catalysis
Light
Methylene Blue / chemistry
Nanostructures* / chemistry
Nanotubes*

Substances

Methylene Blue