The role of BaTiO3 nanoparticles as photocatalysts in the synthesis and characterization of novel fruit dyes is investigated
Authors: Shafeera N. N. , Saravanakkumar D. , Rafi K. Mohamed , Ayeshamariam A. , Kaviyarasu K. 
Published: October 2024

In the present work, the photocatalytic activity against the natural dye extracted from the novel fruits has been studied by the BaTiO3 nanoparticles (NPs) under a ultra‐violet (UV) light source. The large concentrations of an essential phenolic agent present in this phytochemical extract superimposed with cloths fibers make strong stain and degrade into another form of toxic, which is excluded from the many textiles industries as the colorful waste waters without recycling and removal of that dye pigments have been investigated using both photodegradation and photoluminescence techniques. The entitled nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared using the soft chemical root‐modified solvothermal synthesis combo method and exposure to heat treatment such that the annealing process has been done for different temperatures ranging from 100°C to 250°C. As for as concern the characterization, as a start, structural and morphology studies have been reported here that highly crystalline oriented peaks data using powder x‐ray diffraction techniques (PXRD) as well as the surface morphology including the size, shape, and mass distribution using the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) techniques, which purely belong to rutile tetragonal structure of the crystal system and circular and noncircular flakes like rough surface morphology materials respectively. The lattice dissociation constant ‘ε’ value of the BaTiO3 NPs has determined to be ~2.71 × 10−3 using the Williamson–Hall (W–H plot) analysis of crystallographic data. In the UV visible spectroscopy findings, since the extreme quantum confinement of BaTiO3 nanoflakes/nanodisc, the optical energy bandgap has been estimated to be a range of 1.98 to 2.67 eV (~2.48 eV) found from the Tauc plot analysis, which contributes to the significantly owing to the enhanced photocatalytic efficiency with excellent performance along exciton formation, superoxide ions, and hydroxyl free radicals generations under UV–vis light irradiation resulting in efficient degradation of typical novel fruit organic dye. Photoluminescence spectra observed at room temperature and low temperature have been observed for the BaTiO3 nanoflakes, which exhibit the blue emission due to the crystalline defects such as the appearance of Ba vacancies leads to the conceivable beginning of p‐type conductivity and the origination of free exciton emission reveals the direct bandgap transition nature of nanoflakes.

Research Highlights

According to our findings, 89.71% of the natural syzygium cumin is degraded by photocatalysis reaction.

As a plausible mechanism for the destruction of natural dyes under solar light, photocatalytic destruction has been proposed.

The reaction between these reactive free radical species leads to high efficiency photodegradation with a short decay time.

In addition to water treatment and environmental cleaning applications, the excellent performance of this photocatalyst makes it a promising candidate for other applications.

Hence, the synthesized BaTiO3 nanoflakes showcase a highly significant advancement towards the development of a textiles dye recycling method.