Electron-hole recombination effect of SnO2 – CuO nanocomposite for improving methylene blue photocatalytic activity in wastewater treatment under visible light

Abstract

Heterojunction photocatalysts have gained much attraction in pollutant degradation applications due to their unique good adsorption and photocatalytic decomposition capacity and more cycle durability. Tin oxide (SnO2) doped with copper oxide (CuO) heterostructured photocatalyst was synthesized by a simple solution processes technique. X-ray diffraction and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to examine the structural properties of the SnO2 - CuO heterostructure. Analyses of FE-SEM and TEM were performed on the samples to determine their surface morphology. The photodegradation property of SnO2 - CuO heterostructure was studied using methylene blue (MB) model pollutant, where SnO2 - CuO heterostructure (90.3 % at 180 min) was shown better than the SnO2. Therefore, the n-p-junction (SnO2 - CuO) heterostructure catalysis boosted the photodegradation of MB detailed studies on the electron-hole pair recombination were conducted on n-p-junctions to observe the effect of the interface on the recombination have been published.

Keywords

• SnO2 – CuO heterostructure
• Photodegradation
• Electron-hole pair recombination
• Electron microscopy
• Heterojunction photocatalysts
• Visible light irradiation