Green synthesis of TiO2 (anastase) nanoparticles using aloe vera extract as a reducing agent for photocatalytic material

Abstract

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NP) were successfully synthesized using an aloe vera extract-reducing agent with the green synthesis method. The anatase phase of TiO2 NP tetragonal structure with an average crystal size of 59 nm was detected from the XRD pattern. From the results of UV-visible spectroscopy, the optically active region of TiO2 NP at a wavelength of 265 nm with a band gap energy of 2.76 eV. The formation of Ti-O-Ti and Ti-O bonds confirmed the formation of TiO2 NPs in the synthesized material. SEM morphology of TiO2 NP confirmed that the nanoparticles were irregularly spherical. Photodegradation of methylene blue dye was further studied, and a maximum degradation efficiency of 90% was achieved during 10 minutes of irradiation. Photodegradation studies showed that anatase TiO2 NP showed faster and higher degradation efficiency than chemically synthesized TiO2