Influence of Sn Doping on the Structural, Morphological, Optical and Photocatalytic Functionality of ZnO Nanostructures

In the present study, pure and Tin (Sn) doped ZnO (Sn-ZnO) nanostructures are grown using hydrothermal method. The effect of Sn doping on the physical properties of ZnO is extensively studied. Till 4 mol% of Sn doping, the dopant is completely dissolved in the host matrix and no secondary phases are formed as evident from XRD studies. The presence of the constituent elements of the host matrix (Zn,O) and dopant (Sn) is confirmed using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). From FESEM images, it is evident that the morphology of the grown structures changes from rods to flowers and flakes with doping. The microstructural analysis is carried out using HRTEM analysis. Various polar and non-polar optical modes present in the samples are analysed using Raman spectra. Two dominant emission bands around similar to 391 nm, similar to 470 nm are noticed from photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The potential of the Sn doped ZnO nanostructures in photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B is investigated and found that 1 mol% Sn doped ZnO exhibits superior photo catalytic performance.