Approach for Achieving Effective Photocatalytic Activity Under Visible Light of WO3–x/SnO2 Produced by Laser Ablation Method

This work successfully prepared tungsten suboxide/tin oxide (WO3–x/SnO2) composites via Nd:YAG laser ablation method. The synthesized WO3–x/SnO2 binary composite was used as a photocatalyst for the decomposition. The binary composites exhibited higher photocatalytic performance under LED light irradiation than pristineWO3–x and SnO2. The obtained materials were characterized by microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, namely, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV–Vis spectroscopy. UV–Vis spectroscopy provides evidence that tungsten suboxide and crystalline SnO2 nanoparticles have formed, and the visible area absorption of the composite material indicates suitability for photocatalytic activity. The SEM images of the WO3–x/SnO2 revealed that SnO2 octahedron crystals were deposited on the petal-like structure of WO3–x. Furthermore, elemental mapping was performed using EDS to confirm the presence of WO3–x, SnO2, and WO3–x/SnO2 binary composite. XRD peak positions matching with JCPDS standards confirmed the formation of the binary composite. The inclusion of SnO2, which may increase the separation efficiency of electron–hole pairs, is directly responsible for the improved photocatalytic performance of the WO3–x/SnO2 composite. After 60 min of illumination, 84.4% of the MB was removed as compared to 41.6% and 25.4% exhibited by pristine SnO2 and WO3–x, respectively. For the purpose of a high photocatalytic activity toward MB photodecomposition, WO3–x-based photocatalyst is one of the most promising candidates. Hence, this research study shows that the WO3–x/SnO2 composite has a significant potential for use in heterogeneous photocatalysis.