Green Synthesis of CS-TiO2 NPs for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye

Abstract

The development of a non-malignant and sustainable treatment approach for eradicating mephitic organic dyes from freshwater resources is a daunting task. In a similar vein, the current work investigates the mitigation of methylene blue (MB) dye utilizing titanium dioxide nanoparticles (CS-TiO2 NPs) synthesized using cannabis sativa (bhang) leaf extract via a greener approach. The CS-TiO2 NPs are well characterized through XRD, FE-SEM, HR-TEM, UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, and EDS spectroscopy. Microscopic studies confirm that the average particle size distribution of the individual particles was found to be in the range of 12.5 ± 1.5 nm, whereas the average size of the CS-TiO2 NPs aggregates is 24.5 ± 11.5 nm. Additionally, the synthesized CS-TiO2 NPs manifested remarkable photocatalytic degradation potential against methylene blue dye with a degradation efficiency of 98.2% and an apparent rate constant of 0.0398 min−1. As a result, this research offers a green/sustainable alternative for water purification.