SnO 2 nanoparticles synthesized with Citrus aurantifolia and their performance in photocatalysis

This research presents an alternative tin oxide (SnO2) nanoparticles synthesis method using different concentrations of Citrus aurantifolia peel extract as reducing agent. We report the chemical identification protocol for polyphenols in the peels via FTIR, the characterization of the SnO2 nanoparticles by FTIR, XRD, HRTEM, and UV–vis. The SnO2 nanoparticles presented the Sn–O–Sn bond at 640 cm−1 and crystal growth with a clearly tetragonal structure. Depending on the amount of extract used, hemispherical nanoparticles of different sizes (5–12 nm) and band gap values ranging from 3.02 to 3.44 eV were obtained. Photocatalytic degradation studies of the synthesized SnO2 were carried out using methylene blue under UV light. The sample with 4% extract of C. aurantifolia showed a degradation rate of about 96% at 120 min. The use of C. aurantifolia as a reducing agent in the synthesis of SnO2 nanoparticles helps the properties and has control over the morphology of the nanoparticles.