Effect of dopant concentration Mn in SnO2 nanoparticles on photocatalytic, magnetic and optical properties

Mn doped SnO2 nanoparticles were synthesized in a sol-gel technique at various concentrations. A wide range of properties are analyzed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM with EDAX), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), UV-Visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM), and photocatalytic studies. Results from EDAX confirmed the presence of Sn and Mn ions in SnO2 nanoparticles doped with Mn. As a result of analyzing the luminescence of all synthesized samples, blue emission characteristic of lighting applications was observed. Furthermore, 0.2M Mn doped SnO2 sample shows the enhanced ferromagnetism at room temperature with elevated saturation magnetization value. The 0.2M Mn doped SnO2 nanoparticles show the significant increase in photocatalytic efficiency of SnO2 among the other doped samples. Thus, all experiment results demonstrated that the concentration of dopant influences the structure, optical properties, photocatalytic properties, and magnetic properties of SnO2.