Study on photocatalytic, electric, and sensing behavior of Co- and Ag-codoped tin dioxide (SnO2) nano particles

In the current work, the role of Co and Ag co-doping on the electric, optical, and sensing performance of tin dioxide nano particles was investigated. Hydrothermally (co-)precipitation of the dopants was utilized to fabricate pure SnO2 and Sn0.96-xCo0.04AgxO2 (x = 0, 0.02, 0.04) nanoparticles. The crystal structure and microstructure of SnO2 particles was almost unchanged although Co-Ag co-doping reduced particle size from 51.8 nm to 41.6 nm and the unit cell dimensions changed. Overall, Co and Ag resulted in significant rise in oxygen vacancy of SnO2 so that defects compensate unbalanced electron charge induced by dopants. It was also figured out that Co-Ag co-doping improved the conductivity of dioxide at low and high temperatures. Doping Led to decrement in the band gap energy of tin dioxide from 3.66 eV to 3.07 eV, which shows improved optical properties of the compound. Study on photodegradation activity of SnO2 showed up to 97 % enhancement due to Co-Ag co-doping. Finally, the sensor response of the compound revealed that the response intensity of tin dioxide increased significantly when 4 wt % Co and 2 wt % Ag are doped into it.