Morphology-controlled synthesis of SnO2 nanostructures using hydrothermal method and their photocatalytic applications

SnO2 hierarchical architectures were synthesized by a surfactant-free hydrothermal synthesis route. The influence of hydrothermal temperature and treatment time on the final morphology of the nanomaterials was studied. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), UV–vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and adsorption isotherm measurement. Degradation of aniline, 4-nitroaniline and 2,4-dinitroaniline as model organic pollutants was studied in the presence and absence of ultraviolet radiation. The effects of experimental parameters including irradiation time, solution pH and organics structure on the degradability were studied. The photodegradation of the pollutants followed first-order kinetics. The influence of SnO2 morphology on its photocatalytic activity was comparatively investigated. The SnO2 flower-shaped catalysts showed higher activity compared with others suggesting that the morphology of the catalysts exerts a noticeable influence on their performances.