Preparation and Characterization of SnO2/Ag Hollow Microsphere via a Convenient Hydrothermal Route

SnO2/Ag hollow microsphere, assembled form SnO2 and Ag nanoparticles, was synthesized via a facile one-step hydrothermal synthesis method using Na2SnO3.3H2O, CO(NH2)2 and AgNO3 as raw materials. XRD, SEM, and TEM results revealed that the obtained SnO2/Ag hollow microsphere with diameters of ca.3∼5 μm was built from uniformly distributed rutile SnO2 and cubic Ag nanoparticles. Moreover, XPS results indicate the existence of strong interaction between Ag and SnO2 nanoparticles, rather than simply physical contact, endowing the SnO2/Ag hollow microspheres with excellent photocatalytic performance in the degradation of RhB solution under visible light irradiation.