Photodegradation of methyl violet 6B and methylene blue using tin-oxide nanoparticles (synthesized via a green route)

Green synthesis of tin dioxide nanoparticles were developed by microwave heating method using 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 volumetric ratio of water and glycerol, wherein glycerol acts as a good complexing as well as capping agent. This method resulted in the formation of spherical SnO2 nanoparticles with an average diameter similar to 8-30 nm. The synthesized SnO2 NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The optical properties were investigated using UV-vis spectroscopy. The photocatalytic activity of synthesized SnO2 NPs was evaluated for the degradation of two different toxic dyes namely, Methyl Violet 6B and Methylene blue dye under direct sunlight. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.