Highly Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Orange by SnO2/Carbon/PANI Composite

Abstract

Polyaniline (PANI) modified carbon-containing SnO2 composites (SnO2/Carbon/PANI) have been successfully synthesized via a simple liquid phase synthesis method. The compositions, structures and properties of as-synthesized samples were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, BET, XPS, SEM and TEM. Meanwhile, the degradation mechanism of the photocatalysts was put forward. The photocatalytic tests showed that the SnO2/Carbon/PANI composites have excellent photocatalytic activity for methyl orange (MO) degradation under visible light irradiation and the MO can be degraded to 98% within 10 min. The photocatalytic activity is still excellent after three cycles and as-synthesized samples have emerged as powerful foundation for further industrial application.