Investigation on SnO2/TiO2 nanocomposites and their enhanced photocatalytic properties for the degradation of methylene blue under solar light irradiation

The growth of photocatalysts that effectively remove organic contaminants is an essential environmental-remediation impartial. Here, we report an approach for the synthesis and surface modifications of vastly stable SnO2/TiO2 nanocomposites (NCs) that were prepared using hydrothermal techniques. The synthesized samples were assessed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy was examined to assess the energy gap of the prepared samples. Furthermore, SnO2/TiO2 NCs can be used as the photocatalyst for degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under solar light irradiation. The photocatalytic efficiency of the SnO2/TiO2 NCs was observed ~90% removal of MB dye under solar light irradiation. Moreover, it remains almost same over four successive cycles. A projected mechanism was discussed to expose the efficient degradation improvement of charge transfer along with various pathways and the pairs of NCs. Our present investigations highlight the potential of using SnO2/TiO2 NCs for a wide range of photocatalytic applications, also it may be used for various environmental remediation, food-industry applications and self-cleaning surface development.