Synthesis of Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles used for photocatalytic purposes

In this research, pure Zn 2 SnO 4 nanoparticles were produced by high energy ball milling of ZnO and SnO 2 nanoparticles using a molar ratio of 2:1. Micrograph, patterns of vibration and phase composition of the zinc stannate nanoparticles were studied by TEM, FESEM, FT-IR analysis, and x-ray diffraction; and methylene orange was used to study the photocatalytic activity under UV-C illumination. Since both x-ray diffraction and FT-IR analysis confirmed the formation of Zn 2 SnO 4 phase, high energy mechanical milling could be used as a promising method to synthesize pure Zn 2 SnO 4 nanoparticles. The band gap energy of zinc stannate nanoparticles was around 3.8 eV, which necessitates the use of UV illumination for photocatalytic purposes. Comparison of the photocatalytic activity of Zn 2 SnO 4 nanoparticles with that of ZnO nanoparticles showed the appropriate activity of Zn 2 SnO 4 nanoparticles. However, the photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles was approximately twofold, and further attempts are needed to synthesize zinc stannate nanoparticles, which could demonstrate the activity as high as zinc oxide nanoparticles.