TiO2-SnO2 Nanocomposites Obtained by Hydrothermal Method

The TiO2-SnO2 nanocomposites with different ratio of components (1, 3, 5, 10 mas% of tin (IV) oxide) were obtained by simple and low-temperature hydrothermal method. The synthesized nanopowders were analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and N-2 adsorption-desorption method. The obtained composites are nanocrystalline with a crystallite size in the range of 5-7 nm. It was found that the synthesized nanocomposites consist of anatase and rutile-type TiO2-SnO2 solid solutions because of Sn4+ ions incorporation. It was established that the presence of tin (IV) oxide increases the specific surface area of nanocomposites. It was demonstrated, that obtained TiO2-SnO2 nanocomposites show better photocatalytic performance towards anionic dyes (congo red) than towards cationic dyes (methylene blue) and the photocatalytic activity increases with the increase of SnO2 content. Moreover, synthesized TiO2-SnO2 samples have higher adsorption and photocatalytic activity than the commercial titania powder P25 TiO2 AEROXIDE (R) towards congo red degradation.