Antimony-Doped Tin Oxide Catalysts for Green and Sustainable Chemistry

Antimony dopants in tin oxide (SnO2:Sb) occupy part of the Sn sites in the crystal lattice to be dispersed at an atomic level. The resulting generation of conduction band electrons gives rise to high electric conductivity and strong optical absorption in the near-infrared region. Chemically, SnO2:Sb possesses electrocatalytic activities for the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e(-)-ORR) with an extraordinary low affinity for H2O2 and one-electron water oxidation reaction (1e(-)- WOR). Owing to these unique properties, SnO2:Sb is currently finding its applications for green and sustainable chemistry. This Perspective outlines the fundamentals and applications of SnO2:Sb. The fundamental parts deal with the three-dimensional single-atom-catalyst-like character of SnO2:Sb and the electrocatalytic activities for 2e(-)-ORR and 1e(-)-WOR. In the subsequent application parts, SnO2:Sb-catalyzed electrochemical and photocatalytic reactions including hydrogen peroxide synthesis, low temperature oxidative organic transformations, and decomposition of organic water pollutants are described with the photothermal catalytic reactions. Finally, the conclusions and future prospects are summarized.