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Eco-Friendly TiO 2 Nanoparticles: Harnessing Aloe Vera for Superior Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue.

Eco-Friendly TiO 2 Nanoparticles: Harnessing Aloe Vera for Superior Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue.

Authors :
De Luca, Agnese
De Benedetto, Angelantonio
De Matteis, Valeria
Cascione, Mariafrancesca
Di Corato, Riccardo
Ingrosso, Chiara
Corrado, Massimo
Rinaldi, Rosaria
Source :
Catalysts (2073-4344); Nov2024, Vol. 14 Issue 11, p820, 14p
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

In recent years, the contamination of aquatic environments by organic chemicals, including dyes such as methylene blue (MB), Congo red, and crystal violet, has become an increasing concern, as has their treatment. In this work, titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO<subscript>2</subscript> NPs) were studied for their photocatalytic performance by measuring the degradation of MB under UV light. TiO<subscript>2</subscript> NPs were synthesized using two synthetic processes optimized in this study: a green method, namely leveraging the natural properties of Aloe vera leaf extract; and a conventional approach. The resulting NPs were thoroughly characterized using X-rays Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), UV–Vis and ζ-potential analysis. The TiO<subscript>2</subscript> NPs synthesized by the green method demonstrated a degradation efficiency of (50 ± 3)% after 180 min, which was significantly higher than the (16 ± 3)% achieved by NPs synthesized through the conventional route. Moreover, the reaction rate constant for the green-synthesized TiO<subscript>2</subscript> NPs was found to be approximately five times greater than that of the conventionally synthesized NPs. These results open up a new scenario in the pollution removal strategy research, using resources accessible in nature to synthesize NPs with high photocatalytic activity, which could also be useful for other applications, such as hydrogen production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20734344
Volume :
14
Issue :
11
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Catalysts (2073-4344)
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
181165841
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/catal14110820