TiO2/Co3O4nanocomposite: Synthesis via Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don leaf extract, characterization and its photocatalytic activity for malachite green degradation

Abstract

TiO2/Co3O4 nanocomposite was successfully synthesized using leaf extract of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don. (CRE), precursors of TTIP and Co(NO3)2. FT-IR characterization shows that TiO2/Co3O4 has been formed due to the presence of secondary metabolites in CRE which have a major role as a weak base source for nanocomposite synthesis. Particle size analysis was employed by PSA and TEM, which were found to be 38.04 nm and 90.80 nm, respectively. Besides, the UV-Vis DRS result shows that TiO2/Co3O4 has bandgap energy at 2.8 eV. According to the morphological analysis, TiO2/Co3O4 nanocomposite has a spherical shape confirmed by SEM. The structural analysis was confirmed by XRD that TiO2/Co3O4 nanocompositehas a diffraction pattern combination of TiO2 and Co3O4 nanoparticle. The photocatalytic activity of TiO2/Co3O4 nanocomposite was examined for malachite green degradation. The result shows that the degradation percentage was 82.61 % under visible light illumination for 120 min.