Green Synthesis of TiO2 Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Dye Degradation

Abstract

The green synthesis of nanoparticles provides an environmentally suitable method without having any adverse impact on the environment, unlike conventional methods. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been considered as a photocatalyst, but its lower bandgap energy limits its photoactivity towards UV light. The benefit of green synthesis to prepare TiO2 significantly improves UV-light absorption and photocatalytic activity. This study aims to synthesize and characterize TiO2 nanoparticles using Vinca roseus extract for dye degradation application for water remediation. The TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using the sol-gel method with the leaf extract of V. roseus. FTIR confirmed the presence of TiO2 via detection of Ti-O and Ti-O-Ti, vibrational modes within the broadband from 600 to 1000 cm-1. The zeta potential revealed the net surface charge of -22.8 mV. UV-Visible spectroscopy results showed the green synthesised TiO2 nanoparticle had a bandgap energy of around 3.35 eV. SEM and EDX data provided evidence of TiO2 nanoparticles. Photocatalytic degradation of synthesised TiO2 provided significant results against methylene blue dye.