Synthesis and Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2-coupled SnO2 Nanoparticles Prepared By Sol-Gel Technique

Sol-gel technique was applied to synthesis TiO2 with SnO2 nanoparticles in relatively acidic media. X-ray diffraction measurements showed that TiO2/SnO2 nanoparticles were polycrystalline at the anatase phase. TiO2/SnO2 nanoparticles were examined using atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared analysis. The band gap for the TiO2/ SnO2 nanoparticle estimated from UV-vis spectroscopy was 3.69 eV and also varied in order to investigate the effects of these parameter such as nanoparticle loading, pH, initial p-NT concentration, and temperature, on the reaction kinetics. The TiO2-coupled SnO2 nanoparticles in general showed higher photocatalytic activities than the pure ones. Kinetic studies that the reaction is pseudo first order, and the rate of reaction decreased with increasing p-Nitrotoluene initial concentration, and the used different light source showed the visible light was most Efficiency.