Natural Sunlight Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B over Nanocrystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub>
The natural sunlight driven photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants is a sustainable solution for water purification. The use of heterojunction nanocomposites in this process shows promise for improved photodegradation efficiency. In this work, nanocrystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO&...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Nanomaterials |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/14/1138 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850071109321359360 |
|---|---|
| author | Maria Vesna Nikolic Zorka Z. Vasiljevic Milena Dimitrijevic Nadezda Radmilovic Jelena Vujancevic Marija Tanovic Nenad B. Tadic |
| author_facet | Maria Vesna Nikolic Zorka Z. Vasiljevic Milena Dimitrijevic Nadezda Radmilovic Jelena Vujancevic Marija Tanovic Nenad B. Tadic |
| author_sort | Maria Vesna Nikolic |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The natural sunlight driven photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants is a sustainable solution for water purification. The use of heterojunction nanocomposites in this process shows promise for improved photodegradation efficiency. In this work, nanocrystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub> obtained by the solid-state synthesis method was tested as a heterojunction photocatalyst material for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) dyes as single and multicomponent systems in natural sunlight. Characterization of the structure and morphology of the synthesized nanocomposite using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy confirmed the formation of Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub> and heterojunctions between Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub> and the SnO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles. A photodegradation efficiency of 99.1% was achieved in 120 min with 50 mg of the photocatalyst for the degradation of MB and 70.6% for the degradation of RhB under the same conditions. In the multicomponent system, the degradation efficiency of 97.9% for MB and 53.2% for RhB was obtained with only 15 mg of the photocatalyst. The degradation of MB occurred through N-demethylation and the formation of azure intermediates and degradation of RhB occurred through sequential deethylation and fragmentation of the xanthene ring, both in single and multicomponent systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eba56f8768664fb6bca4836174d3fb47 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj-art-eba56f8768664fb6bca4836174d3fb472025-08-20T02:47:22ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912025-07-011514113810.3390/nano15141138Natural Sunlight Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B over Nanocrystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub>Maria Vesna Nikolic0Zorka Z. Vasiljevic1Milena Dimitrijevic2Nadezda Radmilovic3Jelena Vujancevic4Marija Tanovic5Nenad B. Tadic6Institute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, 11030 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, 11030 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, 11030 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Nuclear Sciences of Vinca, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, 11351 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute of Technical Sciences of SASA, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, 11030 Belgrade, SerbiaFaculty of Physics, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaThe natural sunlight driven photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants is a sustainable solution for water purification. The use of heterojunction nanocomposites in this process shows promise for improved photodegradation efficiency. In this work, nanocrystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub> obtained by the solid-state synthesis method was tested as a heterojunction photocatalyst material for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB) dyes as single and multicomponent systems in natural sunlight. Characterization of the structure and morphology of the synthesized nanocomposite using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy confirmed the formation of Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub> and heterojunctions between Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub> and the SnO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles. A photodegradation efficiency of 99.1% was achieved in 120 min with 50 mg of the photocatalyst for the degradation of MB and 70.6% for the degradation of RhB under the same conditions. In the multicomponent system, the degradation efficiency of 97.9% for MB and 53.2% for RhB was obtained with only 15 mg of the photocatalyst. The degradation of MB occurred through N-demethylation and the formation of azure intermediates and degradation of RhB occurred through sequential deethylation and fragmentation of the xanthene ring, both in single and multicomponent systems.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/14/1138Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>SnO<sub>2</sub>heterojunctionphotocatalysismethylene blueRhodamine B |
| spellingShingle | Maria Vesna Nikolic Zorka Z. Vasiljevic Milena Dimitrijevic Nadezda Radmilovic Jelena Vujancevic Marija Tanovic Nenad B. Tadic Natural Sunlight Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B over Nanocrystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub> Nanomaterials Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub> SnO<sub>2</sub> heterojunction photocatalysis methylene blue Rhodamine B |
| title | Natural Sunlight Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B over Nanocrystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub> |
| title_full | Natural Sunlight Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B over Nanocrystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub> |
| title_fullStr | Natural Sunlight Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B over Nanocrystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Natural Sunlight Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B over Nanocrystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub> |
| title_short | Natural Sunlight Driven Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue and Rhodamine B over Nanocrystalline Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub>/SnO<sub>2</sub> |
| title_sort | natural sunlight driven photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine b over nanocrystalline zn sub 2 sub sno sub 4 sub sno sub 2 sub |
| topic | Zn<sub>2</sub>SnO<sub>4</sub> SnO<sub>2</sub> heterojunction photocatalysis methylene blue Rhodamine B |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/14/1138 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mariavesnanikolic naturalsunlightdrivenphotocatalyticdegradationofmethyleneblueandrhodaminebovernanocrystallineznsub2subsnosub4subsnosub2sub AT zorkazvasiljevic naturalsunlightdrivenphotocatalyticdegradationofmethyleneblueandrhodaminebovernanocrystallineznsub2subsnosub4subsnosub2sub AT milenadimitrijevic naturalsunlightdrivenphotocatalyticdegradationofmethyleneblueandrhodaminebovernanocrystallineznsub2subsnosub4subsnosub2sub AT nadezdaradmilovic naturalsunlightdrivenphotocatalyticdegradationofmethyleneblueandrhodaminebovernanocrystallineznsub2subsnosub4subsnosub2sub AT jelenavujancevic naturalsunlightdrivenphotocatalyticdegradationofmethyleneblueandrhodaminebovernanocrystallineznsub2subsnosub4subsnosub2sub AT marijatanovic naturalsunlightdrivenphotocatalyticdegradationofmethyleneblueandrhodaminebovernanocrystallineznsub2subsnosub4subsnosub2sub AT nenadbtadic naturalsunlightdrivenphotocatalyticdegradationofmethyleneblueandrhodaminebovernanocrystallineznsub2subsnosub4subsnosub2sub |