Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic activity of PPy/SnO2 nanocomposite

In this paper, Polypyrrole-tin oxide (PPy/SnO2) nanocomposite was prepared by the facile chemical polymerization technique and characterized using different techniques. From the powder XRD technique, the average crystallite size, crystallinity, and diffraction pattern of PPy/SnO2 were obtained. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and UV-Visible (UV-Vis) absorbance spectroscopies revealed the presence of band for SnO2/PPy and the presence of nanocomposites (SnO2 and PPy) particles in the molecular structure, respectively. The surface morphology and elemental compositions have been determined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). It shows the aggregate and hollow nanospheres of PPy/SnO2. Two model contaminant dyes, Rhodamine B (RhB) and Congo Red (CR) were selected for evaluating the photocatalytic activity of PPy/SnO2 nanocomposites and the result showed that RhB was degraded by 63.6% while CR was decomposed by 93.4% in 90 min irradiation under visible light. The corresponding reaction rate constants were 0.0309 and 0.0112 min-1 and that the synthesized composite shows promising results for practical application in water and wastewater treatment.

Automated summary

In this study, a Polypyrrole-tin oxide (PPy/SnO2) nanocomposite was successfully prepared and characterized using various techniques, demonstrating its promising photocatalytic activity for water and wastewater treatment applications.