Enhanced Photocatalytic Performance of SnSiO Nanoparticles and Their Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) Nanocomposite.

Photocatalysts provide excellent potential for the full removal of organic chemical pollutants as an environmentally friendly technology. It has been noted that under UV-visible light irradiation, nanostructured semiconductor metal oxides photocatalysts can degrade different organic pollutants. The SnSiO/rGO nanocomposite was synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The SnSiO nanoparticles hexagonal phase was confirmed by XRD and functional groups were analyzed by FT-IR spectroscopy. The bandgap of SnSiO nanoparticles (NPs) and SnSiO/GO composites were found to be 2.7 eV and 2.5 eV, respectively. SEM images of samples showed that the flakes like morphology. This SnSiO/rGO nanocomposite was testing for photocatalytic dye degradation of MG under visible light illumination and excellent response for the catalysts. The enhancement of photocatalytic performance was mainly attributed to the increased light absorption, charge separation efficiency and specific surface area, proved by UV-vis DRS. Further, the radical trapping experiments revealed that holes () and superoxide radicals (·O₂) were the main active species for the degradation of MG, and a possible photocatalytic mechanism was discussed.