Tin Oxide-Graphene Oxide (SnO2/GO) Nanocomposite: A Promising Photocatalyst for Rhodamine-B Dye Degradation

Abstract

Appropriate wastewater treatment methods for effectual and practical decontamination of wastewater bodies is the prime goal of today’s environmentalists and industrialists. Herein, sunlight driven photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine-B (RhB) has been investigated by employing hydrothermally synthesized tin oxide-graphene oxide (SnO2/GO) nanocomposite. Physiochemical characterization of composite has been accomplished via X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, diffused reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and photoluminescence (PL). Photocatalytic degradation of RhB is studied using UV light and spectrophotometer. SnO2-GO nanocomposite degraded the RhB dye in 120 min comparatively in quite lesser time than separate SnO2 and GO degradation performances. The incorporation of GO into SnO2 decreases the rate of electron–hole recombination, increases the oxidation of carriers as well as the rate of carrier separation owing to the synergistic impact of GO and SnO2. Therefore, an affordable graphene oxide supported SnO2 nanocomposite can be implicated as efficacious real wastewater treatment method at industrial scale.