Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of Sn–ZnO nanorod array coatings

Abstract

Sn–ZnO nanorod array coatings with a low concentration of tin dioxide (0, 0.5, 1, 5 mol.%) were obtained by hydrothermal method on glass or polycore substrates. The synthesized materials are crystallized in the wurtzite structure, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. According to scanning electron microscopy arrays of nanorods have an average length 120–180 nm and a diameter of 57–77 nm. It was established that an increase in the temperature of hydrothermal synthesis (from 95[Formula: see text]C to 200[Formula: see text]C) leads to a decrease in particle sizes of pure ZnO. All obtained materials have photocatalytic activity in the visible light range. The best photocatalytic activity — 82% degradation of methylene blue in 3 h of visible light irradiation — was shown for material containing 1 mol.% of tin dioxide. This hydrothermal method opens a new pathway for developing new nanostructured photocatalysts.