Semiconductor materials have been shown to have good photocatalytic behavior and can be utilized for the photodegradation of organic pollutants. In this work, three-dimensional flower-like SnS₂ (tin sulfide) was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method. Core-shell structured SiO₂@α-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites were then deposited on the top of the SnS₂ flowers. The as-synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV⁻Vis Spectroscopy, Brunauer⁻Emmett⁻Teller (BET) surface area analysis, and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The photocatalytic behavior of the SnS₂-SiO₂@α-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites was investigated by observing the degradation of methylene blue (MB). The results show an effective enhancement of photocatalytic activity for the degradation of MB especially for the 15 wt % SiO₂@α-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites on SnS₂ flowers.
Keywords: flower-like SnS2; methylene blue; nanocomposites; photocatalyst; visible light.