Photochemical growth of nanoporous SnO2 at the air–water interface and its high photocatalytic activity

Hongjuan Wang; Fengqiang Sun; Yu Zhang; Laisheng Li; Hongyu Chen; Qingsong Wu; Jimmy C. Yu

doi:10.1039/B926930D

Photochemical growth of nanoporous SnO₂ at the air–water interface and its high photocatalytic activity†

Hongjuan Wang,^a Fengqiang Sun,*^ab Yu Zhang,^a Laisheng Li,^a Hongyu Chen,^ab Qingsong Wu^a and Jimmy C. Yu^c

* Corresponding authors

^a School of Chemistry and Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China
E-mail: fqsun@scnu.edu.cn, fengqiangsun@yahoo.cn

^b Key Lab of Electrochemical Technology on Energy Storage and Power Generation in Guangdong Universities, Guangzhou 510006, P. R. China

^c Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hongkong, Shatin, New Territories, Hongkong, P. R. China

Abstract

Nanoporous SnO₂ containing two types of porous structures has been prepared at the air–water interface by a new photochemical route. This room temperature method is surfactant- and template-free, low-cost, and high-yield. Only SnSO₄ and diluted H₂SO₄ aqueous solution were used as precursors. Under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation, Sn²⁺ absorbs photons to produce metallic tin and stannic ions. The metallic tin reacts immediately with oxygen in the air to form SnO₂. Meanwhile, a small amount of tin can also react with H₂SO₄ and is dissolved in the solution to form one type of nanoporous structure. The stannic ions are converted to insoluble H₂SnO₃ which dehydrates to form the other type of porous SnO₂ structure during the subsequent drying process. The as-prepared porous SnO₂ has higher photocatalytic activity than Degussa P25 for degrading methyl orange (MO) solution under the irradation of a xenon lamp.

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Article information

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/B926930D
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 22 Dec 2009
Accepted: 08 Apr 2010
First published: 04 Jun 2010

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J. Mater. Chem., 2010,20, 5641-5645

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Photochemical growth of nanoporous SnO₂ at the air–water interface and its high photocatalytic activity

H. Wang, F. Sun, Y. Zhang, L. Li, H. Chen, Q. Wu and J. C. Yu, J. Mater. Chem., 2010, 20, 5641 DOI: 10.1039/B926930D

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