Synthesis of chitosan/SnO2 nanocomposites by chemical precipitation for enhanced visible light photocatalytic degradation efficiency of congo red and rhodamine-B dye molecules

Tin oxide (SnO 2 ) nanoparticles (NPs) as well as SnO 2 /chitosan(CS) nanocomposites (NCs) were successfully synthesized by a simple chemical precipitation technique and their photocatalytic degradation ability against congo red (CR) and Rhodamine-B (Rh-B) were subsequently evaluated. The crystallinity and surface morphology of the materials were evaluated using X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The TEM images revealed that nanosized SnO 2 NPs were successfully obtained and were homogeneously distributed within the CS matrix. The CS/SnO 2 NCs were exposed to Rh-B dye molecules, resulting in 95% degradation within 60 min, which was significantly higher than for SnO 2 NPs. On the other hand, CS/SnO 2 NCs were found to degrade 98% of CR dye molecules within 40 min of visible light irradiation, which was also significantly shorter than for SnO 2 NPs. The CR dye molecules experienced significantly better levels of photodegradation parameters than Rh-B. The present study demonstrates the potential of CS/SnO 2 NCs in the area of environmental remediation of organic dye-based water pollutants.