Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) by UV-light irradiation using SnO2/CeO2 modified nanographene platelets (NGP)

Abstract

The main task of this present work is to enhance the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) under UV-light irradiation by using SnO2/CeO2 that combined with nanographene platelets (NGP) composite catalysts. A facile approach for the synthesis of SnO2/CeO2/NGp composites was demonstrated via co-precipitation method. The nanographene platelets (NGP) concentrations in composites were altered between 5-15 weight percent (wt.%). The structure and thermal stability obtained composites catalyst were thoroughly studied by various techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. XRD analysis reveals that the composites have the tetragonal structure of SnO2 nanoparticle, the cubic phase of CeO2 and the graphitic-like structure from NGP. TGA curves prove the presence of NGP materials in the composites by the decrement in mass at the temperature about 600°C. The synthesized SnO2/CeO2/NGP 10 wt.% composite exhibits higher photocatalytic activities than SnO2/CeO2 and pure SnO2 nanoparticles for the degradation of MB dye under UV light irradiation. The photocatalytic activities of the synthesized samples show an increasing degradation in the order of SnO2