Novel preparation of nanoporous SnO2 with high potocatalytic activity by a photochemical method

Nanoporous SnO₂ with high photocatalytic activity has been successfully prepared by a photochemical method. The as-synthesized sample was characterized by XRD, N₂ adsorption-desorption, TEM, UV/vis and FTIR. The photocatalytic activity of the sample was evaluated by the decomposition of methyl orange(MO) aqueous solution under different light source(UV, sunlight and visible light) and was compared with that of the commercial titania (Degussa P25). The results showed that the SnO₂ possessed of porous structures with high surface area and some hydroxyl groups. It had higher photocatalytic activity in photodegradation of MO than P25 under any light source, especially at the visibe light irradiation, which could be ascribed to the wide UV-vis light absorption rage between 200 nm and 516 nm and higher specific surface area. This method is low-cost, simple, and importantly, it supplies a new effect way to prepare SnO₂ directly used as photocatalyst.