Synthesis of Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles used for photocatalytic purposes

In this research, pure Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles were produced by high energy ball milling of ZnO and SnO2 nanoparticles using a molar ratio of 2:1. Micrograph, patterns of vibration and phase composition of the zinc stannate nanoparticles were studied by TEM, FESEM, FT-IR analysis, and x-ray diffraction; and methylene orange was used to study the photocatalytic activity under UV-C illumination. Since both x-ray diffraction and FT-IR analysis confirmed the formation of Zn2SnO4 phase, high energy mechanical milling could be used as a promising method to synthesize pure Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles. The band gap energy of zinc stannate nanoparticles was around 3.8 eV, which necessitates the use of UV illumination for photocatalytic purposes. Comparison of the photocatalytic activity of Zn(2)SnO(4 )nanoparticles with that of ZnO nanoparticles showed the appropriate activity of Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles. However, the photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles was approximately twofold, and further attempts are needed to synthesize zinc stannate nanoparticles, which could demonstrate the activity as high as zinc oxide nanoparticles.