Synthesis and characterization of SnO2 nanostructure using Bombyx mori (L.) silkworm cocoon as biomass template for photocatalytic reaction

• SnO2 nanostructures were synthesized using biomass template, Bombyx mori (L.) silkworm cocoon.
• The synthesized SnO2 nanostructures were characterized by FE-SEM, XRD, XPS and BET.
• Synthesized SnO2 nanostructures were used as a photocatalyst for methylene blue degradation.

A SnO2 nanostructure was synthesized by a simple impregnation method using Bombyx mori (L.) silkworm cocoon as biomass template. The synthesized SnO2 nanostructure was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis. The photocatalytic properties of the achieved SnO2 nanostructure were evaluated using the photodecomposition rate of methylene blue under UV light. The photodecomposition rate was found to follow a pseudo-first-order equation, with a kinetic constant (k1) of 2.16×10−2 min−1.

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