Hydrothermal synthesis of Ti oxide nanostructures and TiO2:SnO2 heterostructures applied to the photodegradation of rhodamine B

► The formation of the materials depends on the [KOH] used during syntheses. ► The heterostructures were obtained with the lower [KOH]. ► Photoactivity of the heterostructures was higher than the respective TiO2 nanostructures. ► Titanate nanotubes showed high concentration of OH groups but low photoactivity.