Synthesis and daylight photocatalytic properties of graphene/self-doped tin oxide/silver ternary nanocomposite on fabric surface

Abstract Visible light activity is a key point to improve the efficiency and practical application of photocatalytic process by using daylight irradiation. This work describes a novel method to produce an efficient rGO-Sn2+doped-SnO2-Ag ternary nanocomposite on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric via the in-situ low-temperature redox reactions method. The structural characteristics of the produced nanocomposites were studied via UV-vis, XRD, Raman, FTIR, XPS, PL, FESEM and EDX techniques. The observed results indicated that a well-controlled SnO2 nanostructure with different morphologies (nanoparticles, nanosheets, and nanorods) was synthesized on the fabric surface. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under daylight irradiation. In particular, the photocatalytic properties of Sn2+:SnO2 enhances in presence of rGO and Ag under daylight as shown in optical bandgaps measurement and dye photodegradation. Among the samples, the photocatalytic activity of sample with 10% Ag is most satisfactory as it has great optical and electron transfer properties on nanocomposites. The results of the research could facilitate the production of an efficient and stable visible photocatalyst nanostructure.