Synthesis of fluorinated SnO2 3D hierarchical structures assembled from nanosheets and their enhanced photocatalytic activity

Fluorinated SnO2 3D hierarchical structures assembled from nanosheets were synthesized via hydrothermal treatment of stannous fluoride in the presence of an appropriate amount of adipic acid. The as-prepared products were characterized in detail by FESEM/TEM/XRD/BET/XPS/UV-vis DRS techniques. The SnO2 nanosheets with tetragonal rutile structure were single-crystalline in nature and the exposed planes should be {1 (1) over bar1} facets. A small amount of fluorine ions was observed to be adsorbed on the surface of SnO2 physically. It was found that both of F- and adipic acid played important roles in the formation of SnO2 nanostructures. The as-prepared product presented excellent photocatalytic degradation of RhB which reached 100% within 20 min under UV light irradiation.