Enhanced removal of organic dyes from porous channel-like SnO2 nanostructures

Porous SnO2 nanostructures with nanochannels are synthesized through anodic oxidation of tin foils in oxalic acid solution. The effect of varying the applied potentials on the morphologies and photocatalytic activities of the porous channel-like SnO2 are investigated. The enhancement of photocatalytic efficiency is exhibited with increasing the pore diameter and the complete removal of MO molecules is possible in 120 min under the irradiation. Photocatalytic efficiency of the porous channel-like SnO2 nanostructure for the photo-reduction of MO pollutants is much faster than that of simple SnO2 nanoparticles, which mainly attribute to the efficient anti-recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs for the introducing of porous nanochannel-like nanostructures. The structure would significantly extend its application not only in waste water remediation but also in other fields, such as supercapacitors and gas sensors.