Hierarchical Assembly of SnO 2 /ZnO Nanostructures for Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance

Abstract

SnO 2 /ZnO hierarchical heterostructures have been successfully synthesized by combining electrospinning technique and hydrothermal method. Various morphologies of the secondary ZnO nanostructures including nanorods (NRs) and nanosheets (NSs) can be tailored by adding surfactants. Photocatalytic performance of the heterostructures was investigated and obvious enhancement was demonstrated in degradation of the organic pollutant, compared to the primary SnO 2 -based nanofibers (NFs) and bare ZnO. Furthermore, it was found that the H 2 evolution from water splitting was achieved by photocatalysis of heterostructured nanocomposites after sulfurization treatment. This synthetic methodology described herein promises to be an effective approach for fabricating variety of nanostructures for enhanced catalytic applications. The heterostructured nanomaterials have considerable potential to address the environmental and energy issues via degradation of pollutant and generation of clean H 2 fuel.