Synthesis and characterization of SnO2/rGO nanocomposite for an efficient photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceutical pollutant: Kinetics, mechanism and recyclability.

The SnO2 and SnO2/rGO nanostructures were successfully synthesized using the facile hydrothermal synthesis technique. The prepared nanostructures were well studied using different techniques such as XRD, XPS, UV-DRS, FT-IR, EDX, SEM and HR-TEM analysis. The crystalline nature of SnO2 and SnO2/rGO was confirmed by the XRD technique. The formation of highly pure SnO2 and SnO2/rGO nanostructures was confirmed by EDX analysis. The morphological results show the good agglomeration of several spherical nanoparticles. The optical properties were studied through the UV-DRS technique and the bandgap energies of SnO2 and SnO2/rGO are estimated to be 3.12 eV and 2.71 eV, respectively. The photocatalytic degradation percentage in presence of SnO2 and SnO2/rGO against RhB was found to be 96% and 98%, respectively. The degradation of TTC molecules was estimated as 90% and 88% with SnO2/rGO and SnO2, respectively. The degradation of both RhB and TTC molecules was well suited with the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The results of successive experiments clearly show the enhancement in the photocatalytic properties in the SnO2/rGO nanostructures.

White LED active α-Fe2O3/rGO photocatalytic nanocomposite for an effective degradation of tetracycline and ibuprofen molecules.

The formation of phase pure magnetically separable α-Fe2O3 and α-Fe2O3/rGO nanostructures were achieved through a simple hydrothermal technique. The properties of synthesized materials were investigated through different analytical techniques. The formation of phase pure FO and FO/rGO nanostructures were confirmed by XRD analysis with crystallite size of about ∼42 nm and ∼65 nm, respectively. The morphological analysis reveals the formation of sphere-like nanoparticles with high agglomeration. The UV-DRS analysis clearly shows the enhanced visible-light activity of FO/rGO nanoparticles. The BET analysis revealed the mesoporous property of FO/rGO nanocomposite. The enhancement in the photoinduced charge transfer process is observed after including rGO nanoparticles with FO. The photocatalytic efficiency of nanomaterials was analyzed using tetracycline and ibuprofen as model organic pollutants under white LED irradiation. The enhanced photocatalytic degradation ability of FO/rGO nanocomposite is studied against both tetracycline and ibuprofen molecules.