Synthesis and control of the morphology of SnO2 nanoparticles via various concentrations of Tinospora cordifolia stem extract and reduction methods

Abstract

SnO2 nanoparticles were synthesized utilizing Tinospora cordifolia stem extract. The effects of the concentration of the extract and the utilization of ultrasound irradiation on different chemical properties, mainly surface morphology, were studied. To determine the instrumental characteristics, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-Transform-Infra Red, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscope analyses were used. The optical properties of the material were studied using ultraviolet UV–visible diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry and photocatalytic activity tests on rhodamine B photodegradation. The results summarized the effect of T. cordifolia stem extract on the nucleation process during SnO2 crystallization, as a higher concentration leads to polymorphic forms with a greater particle size and an additional SnO phase. In addition, ultrasound-assisted reduction tended to produce a smaller particle size. The optical properties were found to be correlated with the particle size, as the higher particle size gave a smaller band gap energy and less photocatalytic activity for rhodamine B degradation.

Keywords

• SnO2 nanoparticles
• Nanorods
• Photocatalyst
• Photocatalysis