Facile Synthesis of Hybridized Mesoporous Au@TiO 2 /SnO 2 as Efficient Photocatalyst and Selective VOC Sensor

Considering the novelty of heterojunction formation in sunlight photocatalysis, dahlia flower resembling Au loaded TiO 2 /SnO 2 nanocomposite was synthesized using facile hydrothermal method to improve the degradation rate of waste water pollutants. The intrinsic high surface area coupled with unique heterojunction formation causes Au@TiO 2 /SnO 2 to exhibit excellent photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye under sunlight irradiation. Under the optimized conditions of catalyst dosage (0.3 g/L), dye concentration (100 ppm) and pH (10), 99.2 % of the RhB aqueous solution was degraded in 35 min of illumination time. Moreover, the resulting Au@TiO 2 /SnO 2 nanohybrid unveiled excellent sensing response (43) towards acetone gas (100 ppm) while detecting a variety of common volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including methanol, benzyl alcohol and isopropanol at 220 °C. Thus, the enhanced photocatalytic activity for degrading organic pollutants under sunlight irradiation and excellent sensing properties at relatively lower working temperature, make this porous nanohybrid a promising candidate for environmental monitoring applications.