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• Fe-doped BiVO 4 /SnO 2 composites were prepared via combining sol-gel and LPD processes. • Photocatalytic degradation of BR46 dye under visible-light irradiation was evaluated. • The 1.5Fe-BiVO 4 /SnO 2 nanocomposite exhibited the highest visible-light photoactivity. • Possible mechanism for the photocatalytic activity of nanocomposites was proposed. Designing and constructing heterogeneous structures is an effective approach employed to improve photocatalytic performance. This study aimed to use Fe-doped BiVO 4 /SnO 2 nanocomposites for photocatalytic degradation of Basic Red 46 (BR46) dye under visible-light irradiation. BiVO 4 nanoparticles doped with varying amounts of Fe were synthesized using the sol-gel method and interspersed on SnO 2 nanorods with an average diameter of about 100 nm fabricated using the liquid phase deposition (LPD) process. FE-SEM, EDX, XRD, FT-IR, XPS, BET, DRS, and PL analysis were used to characterize the morphology and structure of the samples. The 1.5 wt% Fe-doped BiVO 4 /SnO 2 nanocomposite exhibited the highest visible-light photoactivity with excellent stability, resulting in complete degradation of BR46 within 90 min of irradiation. The boost photocatalytic activity of Fe-doped BiVO 4 /SnO 2 nanocomposite can be attributed to the enhanced separation of photo-generated carriers derived from synergistic effects by the BiVO 4 /SnO 2 heterostructure, Fe doping in BiVO 4 lattice, and partly the extended light absorption ability. These findings show that designing a heterogeneous BiVO 4 /SnO 2 structure with Fe-doping can be a promising strategy for the application in constructing efficient and stable photocatalysts for the degradation of dyes from industrial wastewater pollutions. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract 1D ultrafine SnO 2 nanorods anchored on 3D graphene aerogel (SnO 2 NRs/GA) composite is prepared through a simple reduction-induced self-assembly method. The unique 3D network structure as well as the synergistic effect between 3D graphene nanoshhet and 1D SnO 2 nanorods endows the as-prepared SnO 2 NRs/GA composite with the good electrochemical lithium/sodium storage performance. Abstract SnO 2 is considered as one of the most promising alternative anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) and sodium ion batteries (SIBs) due to high specific capacity, low discharge voltage plateau and environmental friendliness. In this work, 1D ultrafine SnO 2 nanorods anchored on 3D graphene aerogel (SnO 2 NRs/GA) composite is prepared through a simple reduction-induced self-assembly method in the solution of graphene oxide (GO), Vitamin C and SnO 2 nanoparticles. Vitamin C plays an important role in the reduction of GO. The structural and morphological characterizations demonstrate that 1D ultrafine SnO 2 nanorods are uniformly and tightly anchored on the surface of 3D graphene nanosheet aerogels. The unique 3D network structure as well as the synergistic effect between 3D graphene nanoshhet and 1D SnO 2 nanorods endows the as-prepared SnO 2 NRs/GA composite with the good electrochemical lithium/sodium storage performance. It delivers the high initial discharge capacity (1713 mA h g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 for LIBs and 539 mA h g−1 at 0.05 A g−1 for SIBs) and good cycle stability (869 mA h g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 after 50 cycles for LIBs and 232 mA h g−1 at 0.05 A g−1 after 100 cycles for SIBs). Moreover, the SnO 2 NRs/GA composite exhibits excellent cycle stability for SIBs with a high reversible capacity of 96 mA h g−1 at as high as 1 A g−1 for 500 cycles. This work provides a simple method to fabricate the electro-active materials-graphene aerogel composites for high-performance LIBs and SIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure and composition of materials have significant impacts on the gas sensing performance of sensors. In this work, a well-constructed 1D SnO 2 nanorods/2D NiO porous nanosheets heterostructure were successfully prepared for the detection of ethanol gas. The SnO 2 nanorods with a diameter of 10–15 nm uniformly grew on the surface of NiO nanosheets, increasing the number of active sites. The space charge region formed at heterointerfaces controlled electron transfer, benefiting for improving sensor response. Gas test results showed that, at the optimum operating temperature of 300 °C, NiO/SnO 2 (Ni:Sn = 1:0.5) reached a high response of 25.7 to 100 ppm ethanol, which was about 15 times higher than pure NiO (1.65). In addition, the NiO/SnO 2 displayed a fast response-recovery speed, good selectivity, and excellent long-term stability. The enhanced gas sensing mechanism of NiO/SnO 2 was proposed by analyzing the surface chemical states, surface area, and electronic structure of materials. • 1D SnO 2 nanorods/2D NiO porous nanosheets p-n heterostructures were synthesized. • The SnO 2 nanorods were grown on NiO porous nanosheets for the detection of ethanol gas. • The SnO 2 /NiO heterostructures showed the highest responses and fastest response/recovery speed. • The enhanced gas sensing mechanisms of SnO 2 /NiO were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The arrays of tin oxide nanorods-solid phase microextraction (ATN-SPME) fibre coupled with the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for simultaneous determination of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), Citalopram and Fluoxetine, in human urine and plasma samples. The variables of interest in the Direct-SPME (D-SPME) were extraction time, pH, ion strength or salt percentage and desorption time of analytes from the fibre. These factors were optimised by using a Box–Behnken design and the response surface equations were developed. The optimal experimental conditions obtained from this statistical evaluation included: the salt percentage (30%, w/v), NaOH volume (6.5μl from a 1M solution), extraction time (10min) and desorption time (30min) for drugs in the plasma sample and The salt percentage (30%, w/v), NaOH volume (100μl from a 1M solution), extraction time (18min) and desorption time (23min) for drugs in the urine sample. A satisfactory reproducibility for the extraction from urine and plasma samples (R.S.D.<10%) was obtained. The linearity for urine and plasma ranged from 1 to 5×105 ngml−1 with a detection limit of 0.2ngml−1 for Citalopram and 0.5ngml−1 for Fluoxetine, which covered the typical urinary concentrations obtained for Citalopram and Fluoxetine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A novel architecture of SnO2 nanorods grown on graphite has been synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method for lithium ion battery. The as-prepared products were characterized by XRD, FTIR, N2 adsorption/desorption, FESEM and TEM. The electrochemical performances of SnO2/graphite composite were measured by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results show that the SnO2/graphite composite maintains high lithium storage capacity and good cycling stability, indicating its promising potential as a novel anode material for high-performance lithium ion batteries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) fabricated with pristine SnO2 nanocrystals was reported to be less superior compared to DSSC based on mesoporous TiO2 nanoparticles though both oxides have comparable electrical and surface properties. Owing to inherent high charge recombination properties of SnO2 nanoparticles, photoanode fabricated with SnO2 nanoparticles resulting in unexpected low open circuit voltage (V oc) and fill factor (FF). To overcome inherent charge recombination in SnO2, we investigated pristine SnO2 nanorods and showed enhanced V oc, FF and overall conversion efficiency (η) for SnO2 nanorods. The photoanode made of SnO2 nanorods yields nearly a 2-fold improvement in fill factor, 5 fold increases in η and a greater than 2-fold increase in short-circuit current density with a moderate increase in open-circuit photovoltage. The effects appear to arise primarily from longer electron lifetimes and reduced charge recombination of SnO2 nanorod based solar cells compared to that of SnO2 particles owing to 1-D nature of SnO2 nanorod which were evaluated by open-circuit voltage decay (OCVD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

SnO2 nanorods were successfully deposited on substrate by inductively coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using dibutyltin diacetate (DBTDA) as the precursor. Each of the SnO2 nanorods in situ grown under catalyst- and template-free growth condition and without any substrate heating was found to be [110] oriented single crystal. These needle-shaped nanorods have an average diameter between 5 and 16 nm and a length of 160 to 250 nm from TEM observation. Substrate distance and RF power showed notable effects on the formation of SnO2 nanorods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]