Low temperature synthesis of nano-sized (Sn0.25,Ti0.75)O2 photocatalysts by a molten salt method

Nano-sized (Sn0.25,Ti0.75)O2 photocatalysts were successfully synthesized by a molten salt (MS) method at 260 °C for 2 h, where a homogeneous precipitate containing titanium and tin cations as a precursor. The synthesized powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV–vis, respectively. The results show that the products are composed of homogeneously spherical particles with an average size of ca.10 nm, and have better UV absorption and visible light response when the reaction temperature is increased to 400 °C.