Enhancement of visible light photocatalytic activity over bistructural SnO₂ nanobelts

SnO₂ nanobelts were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The structure and morphology were investigated by XRD, Raman spectra, SEM and TEM. The results revealed that the synthesized SnO₂ nanobelts were covered with amorphous surface. For the photocatalytic efficiency of methylene blue, the none-fully crystallized SnO₂ nanobelts were over four times higher than bulk SnO₂. Moreover, the photo-degradation rate constant with SnO₂ nanobelts as photocatalysts was over six times higher than bulk SnO₂. It was considered that the subtle structure of SnO₂ nanobelts not only lowered the band gap but also improved the transfer of charge carriers and trapping effect of solar light. Furthermore, this strategy of enhancing photocatalytic performance could be extended to the other kinds of metal oxide photocatalyst.