Hydrothermal Synthesis, Structural Characteristics, and Enhanced Photocatalysis of SnO2/α-Fe2O3 Semiconductor Nanoheterostructures

Abstract

Branched SnO₂/α-Fe₂O₃ semiconductor nanoheterostructures (SNHs) of high purity were synthesized by a low-cost and environmentally friendly hydrothermal strategy, through crystallographic-oriented epitaxial growth of the SnO₂ nanorods onto the α-Fe₂O₃ nanospindles and nanocubes, respectively. It was demonstrated that the SnO₂ nanorods would change their preferential growth direction on the varied α-Fe₂O₃ precursors with distinct crystallographic surface, driven by decrease in the distortion energy induced by lattice mismatch at the interfaces. All of the prepared SNHs were of high purity, ascribing to the successful preinhibition of the SnO₂ homonucleation in the reaction system. Significantly, some of the SnO₂/α-Fe₂O₃ SNHs exhibited excellent visible light or UV photocatalytic abilities, remarkably superior to their α-Fe₂O₃ precursors, mainly owing to the effective electron−hole separation at the SnO₂/α-Fe₂O₃ interfaces.