Photocatalytic Nanoparticles SnO2/CuO in Treating Water Contaminated with Organic Methylene Blue Dye

Once reactive dyes pollute water, there is a serious risk to both human health and the environment. In this work, we used the environmentally friendly hydrothermal technique to synthesize a highly efficient SnO2/CuO nanocomposite at two distinct concentrations. The materials’ structural characteristics were investigated using X-ray diffraction, while surface morphology was assessed using FE-SEM technology. Additionally, FTIR and UV–visible spectrophotometers were employed. The XRD data shows that the samples have two crystal structures: CuO in a monoclinic phase and metallic Sn in a tetragonal cell. The SnO2 structure in the samples includes tetragonal rutile. FE-SEM images indicate that altering the precursor concentration between 0.1 and 0.05 M noticeably impacts photocatalysis. It also affects the diameter size of the particles, ranging from 47.5 to 59.9 nm, and alters the overall structure of the nanocomposite. The presence of vibrational bands corresponding to SnO2 and CuO in the FTIR spectra indicates that the binary metallic oxides have been effectively integrated, validating these materials’ presence in the nanostructure. Absorption increases with layer thickness in UV–vis. The energy gap decreased from 2.03 to 1.8 eV with increasing layer thickness. The SnO2/CuO nanocomposite’s photodegradation efficiency was examined using methylene blue as a model pollutant (at 135 min, 97.71 and 95.42%). The photocatalytic activity seen in this study to remove methylene blue was supported by the hydrothermal technique with two distinct concentrations, and the end goal was to maintain the aquatic ecosystem as much as feasible using catalytic nanomaterials capable of decomposing organic pollutants.