Heterostructured Tin oxide-pillared tetratitanate with enhanced photocatalytic activity

An effective active heterostructured photocatalyst of porous SnO(2)-pillared tetratitanate nanocomposite is synthesized by assembling tetratitanate nanosheets with SnO(2) nanoparticles via an exfoliation-restacking route. The nanocomposite was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscope, thermogravimetric analysis, UV-vis DRS, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and N(2) adsorption-desorption measurements. It was found that the pillared nanaocomposite is mesoporous with a gallery height of about 2 nm and a specific surface area of 154 m(2)/g. The pillared nanaocomposite exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity in the photodegradation of Rhodamine B under UV light irradiation. The improved performance is attributed to the electronic coupling between the host and the guest components, as well as its high surface area and mesoporosity.