Phase system of hexane-water for SnO2 nanoparticles preparation using Cassia alata leaf extract and its photocatalytic activity

Abstract

Abstract SnO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared using a hexane phase of Cassia alata leaf extract (CLE) and a water phase of SnCl2 precursor by high-speed stirring (HSS) method. In this study, HSS was utilized to analyze the nanoparticle formation via phase system of hexane-water. Next, the synthesized SnO2 NPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, particle size analyzer (PSA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Phytochemical screening confirms that CLE contains secondary metabolites such as alkaloids as a source of base, saponins and tannin as a capping agent in SnO2 NPs formation. TEM characterization shows that the particle size of SnO2 NPs was approximately 25–50 nm. The photocatalytic activity of SnO2 NPs was tested for methylene blue (MB) degradation under UV light irradiation. As a result, the degradation percentage of MB was 70.29 % for 160 min.