Premium
Preparation of Sn O 2 – T i O 2 / MWCNT nanocomposite photocatalysts with different synthesis parameters
Author(s) -
Réti Balázs,
Péter Nóra,
Dombi András,
Hernadi Klara
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/pssb.201300076
Subject(s) - photocatalysis , materials science , nanocomposite , catalysis , carbon nanotube , precipitation , composite number , nanoparticle , calcination , methylene blue , chemical engineering , decomposition , bet theory , specific surface area , composite material , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , chemistry , engineering , physics , meteorology
Photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 can be further improved by coupling it with other semiconductors and/or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and create a composite material. SnO 2 –TiO 2 /multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite catalysts with different molar ratios were prepared and the photocatalytic activities of these samples were evaluated with methylene blue decomposition. The catalysts were synthesized by acid‐catalysed sol–gel method. Two series of catalysts were made, one with co‐precipitation and the other one with consecutive precipitation method. The samples were characterized by TEM, XRD, BET techniques, respectively. These investigations revealed that some crystalline oxide nanoparticles were successfully bound onto the surface of MWCNTs. Mainly, the MWCNT containing catalysts showed higher photocatalytic activity, and addition of SnO 2 enhances the efficiency of photocatalysts. The composites with the ratio of 25–75 (SnO 2 –TiO 2 mol%) with 10 wt% of MWCNTs showed the best performance in photocatalytic test reactions.