Synthesis, characterization and photocatalytic applications of N-, S-, and C-doped SnO2 nanoparticles under ultraviolet (UV) light illumination

• Successful synthesis of N-, S-, and C-doped SnO2 photocatalyst by precipitation method.
• Doping N-, S-, and C- into SnO2 nanoparticles increases the absorbance of SnO2 nanoparticles in UV region.
• Photocatalytic properties of N-, S-, and C-doped SnO2 powder are studied.

N-, S-, and C-doped SnO2 nanoparticles were synthesized via a precipitation method and were characterized by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectral (UV–vis DRS) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) techniques. The photocatalytic activities of these SnO2 samples were investigated with methyl orange as the organic pollutant under UV light illumination. UV–vis spectroscopy demonstrated that dopants N,S,C-species can shift the absorption edge to the near UV and visible light region. N,S,C-SnO2 nanoparticles achieved the best photocatalytic efficiency and the most optimal doping ratio was 3 (T/S). The degradation of methyl orange by N,S,C-SnO2 nanoparticles fitted well with the Langmuir–Hinshelwood kinetics model. The results of subsequent experiments indicate that enhanced adsorption ability of light and high separation rate of photo induced charge carriers all play an major role in promotion of photocatalytic activity of N,S,C-SnO2 nanoparticles.

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