Design of SnO2 nanorods/polypyrrole nanocomposite photocatalysts for photocatalytic activity towards various organic pollutants under the visible light irradiation

Abstract

A composite photocatalyst consisting of polypyrrole (PPy) and tin oxide (SnO2) was successfully synthesized via facile hydrothermal route and followed by a polymerization method. The as-prepared SnO2/PPy nanocomposite was characterized and confirmed by various analytical techniques such as XRD, Raman, UV-DRS, SEM, TEM, BET and EDAX analysis. The photocatalytic activity of SnO2/PPy composite was studied experimentally for the degradation of Reactive Black 31 (RB 31) and 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) dyes under simulated visible light irradiation at ambient conditions. It was indicated that the photocatalytic rate constant of ZnO/PPy was nearly 2 times higher than that of SnO2. Morover, the optimized SnO2/PPy (10 wt% SnO2 in PPy) photocatalyst shows degradation efficiency of 89 and 98% for RB31 and 4-CP dyes, respectively. Meanwhile, the SnO2/PPy nanocomposite charge transfer mechanism was investigated through photocurrent and impedance analysis. This work demonstrates that a simple ultrasonic method efficiently utilized for the preparation of nanocomposite and its applications.