High performance photocatalytic activity of pure and Ni doped SnO₂ nanoparticles by a facile wet chemical route

Nickel-doped tin dioxide nanoparticles with various doping levels were prepared by a facile wet chemical synthesis and its structural, morphological and optical properties were characterized by using powder X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV–Vis transmittance spectroscopy. Structural analysis showed that both pure and Ni doped SnO₂ are polycrystalline with rutile phase and preferred orientation (110) which improves with increasing the Ni concentrations. Spherical like morphology with average particle size of around 36–17 nm was observed by TEM analysis. The optical absorption spectroscopy showed shift in band gap energies for Ni-doped SnO₂ nanocrystals. The room temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy shows dominant emission peaks in the visible region. The photocatalytic behavior of the Ni-SnO₂ catalyst is investigated using phenol, benzoic acid and Methyl orange as model organic pollutant. A maximum degradation efficiency of 96% is achieved under UV light irradiation for 5% Ni doped SnO₂. Moreover, this catalyst showed improved stability, and the activity did not weaken significantly after seven recycles.