Zeitschrift für Nanomaterialien und molekulare Nanotechnologie

Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Polyvinylpyrrolidone Assisted Microwave Hydrothermal Grown Tin Oxide Photocatalysts

Zhenfeng Zhu, Jiaqi Zhou, Hui Liu, Zuoli He and Xiaofeng Wang

Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Polyvinylpyrrolidone Assisted Microwave Hydrothermal Grown Tin Oxide Photocatalysts

Pure and well mono-dispersed SnO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized by a microwave assisted hydrothermal method, where polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) was used as a surfactant and SnCl₂.2H₂O, as tin source. The structure and surface morphology of as-obtained products were well characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The results show that the particle size of SnO₂ nanoparticles is about 200-300 nm and there are many small prisms grown on SnO₂ nanoparticles surface.