Synthesis, Characterization and Photocatalytic Application of TiO2/SnO2 Nanocomposite Obtained Under Non-thermal Plasma Condition at Atmospheric Pressure

A plasma-assisted synthesis of TiO2/SnO2 nanocomposite is described. In this approach, a precursor containing a mixture of [TiCl3 and SnCl2] exposed to electric discharge was oxidized by plasma-generated reactive species (HO·/H2O = 2.85 eV/SHE). SnO2 microstructures with a diameter of 10–40 µm were coated by thin layers TiO2 nanorods with mean diameter of 6–8 nm. The obtained TiO2/SnO2 nanocomposite was characterized by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared. TiO2/SnO2 nanocomposite was found to be a promising new material for the photocatalytic discoloration of aqueous Remazol Brilliant Blue-R dye under daylight and UVA light sources, due to the combined effects of large specific surface area and heterojunction which efficiently separates the electron–hole pairs delaying the charge recombination. The leaching test indicated that the nanocomposite is stable easily reusable.