Nanostructured Semiconductor Films for Photocatalysis. Photoelectrochemical Behavior of SnO₂/TiO₂Composite Systems and Its Role in Photocatalytic Degradation of a Textile Azo Dye

Abstract

Nanostructured semiconductor films of SnO 2, TiO 2 and SnO 2 /TiO 2 have been employed for electrochemically assisted photocatalytic degradation of a textile azo dye naphthol blue black (NBB). The degradation rate is significantly higher for SnO 2 /TiO 2 composite films than SnO 2 and TiO 2 films alone. An effort has been made to correlate the photoelectrochemical behavior of these films to the rate of photocatalytic degradation of NBB. The enhanced degradation rate of NBB using composite semiconductor films is attributed to increased charge separation in these systems. Photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic degradation experiments carried out in both nitrogen- and oxygen-saturated solutions with an externally applied electrochemical bias provide useful information in optimizing semiconductor concentrations in a composite film.