Photovoltaic and photocatalytic performance of electrospun Zn2SnO4 hollow fibers

•Phase pure Zn2SnO4 and ZnO-SnO2-Zn2SnO4 composite fibers were prepared by electrospin technique.•The samples exhibited distinct difference in photovoltaic performance and photocatalytic activity.•The composite fiber of ZnO-SnO2-Zn2SnO4 performs better as a photocatalyst.•1.93% efficiency has been achieved for the pure Zn2SnO4 porous fiber with N719 dye.

The phase pure hollow Zn2SnO4 and green emitting ZnO-SnO2-Zn2SnO4 composite fiber have been prepared by post calcining the as formed fiber by electrospin technique. Depending upon the calcination temperature, the as prepared fiber exhibited a striking variation in composition, microstructure, optical and photo-electrochemical properties. The composition dependent dissimilarity in photovoltaic performance and photocatalytic activity has been established in this work. A relatively enhanced open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.76 V, fill factor (FF) of 59.78%, short circuit current (Jsc) of 4.2 mA/cm2 and an overall conversion efficiency (ɳ) of 1.93% have been achieved for the phase pure Zn2SnO4 porous fiber obtained at the elevated calcination temperature of 1000 °C. On the contrary, a relatively reduced Voc, FF, JSC and ɳ of 0.70 V, 42.54%, 3.8 mA/cm2 and 1.17%, respectively, have been achieved for the 800 °C calcined dense fiber consisting of a mixture of three distinct phases ZnO, SnO2 and Zn2SnO4. Unlike photovoltaic behaviour the trend in photocatalytic performance interestingly got reversed for the ZnO-SnO2-Zn2SnO4 composite fiber owing to its superior photo-induced charge separation ability followed by generation of larger amount of active hydroxyl radicals (OH.). Our results establish the composite fiber as a preferred photocatalyst in comparison to phase pure Zn2SnO4 towards the textile dyes Methylene blue and Congo red and non absorbing organic pollutants such as Phenol and Bisphenol A under UV illumination.

Graphical AbstractDownload high-res image (247KB)Download full-size imageThe phase pure hollow Zn2SnO4 and green emitting ZnO-SnO2-Zn2SnO4 composite fiber exhibiting enhanced photovoltaic and photocatalytic applications have been prepared by electro spinning technique.