Preparation of α-SnWO4/SnO2 heterostructure with enhanced visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

Abstract In this work, a novel α-SnWO4/SnO2 heterostructure was synthesized via a facile two-step hydrothermal method. The as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scan electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which confirmed the typical orthorhombic α-SnWO4 phase, plate-like morphology and α-SnWO4/SnO2 heterostructure. The photocatalytic studies revealed that the attachment of SnO2 nanoparticles on the surface of α-SnWO4 plates can remarkably improve their photocatalytic activities and the α-SnWO4/SnO2 heterostructure exhibited the best photocatalytic properties in the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. The degradation rate of MO on α-SnWO4/SnO2 plate was 97% within 40 min and the photocatalytic degradation reaction followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The enhanced photocatalytic property was ascribed to the large surface area and the heterojuction between α-SnWO4 and SnO2, which can facilitate efficient charge separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. Furthermore, α-SnWO4/SnO2 nanocomposite demonstrated good recyclability, which is useful for its practical application.