Structural Characterization and Physical Properties of Hydnora africana

The physical properties of several parts of Hydnora triceps (Cover, root and seeds) were investigated. The structure of four parts of Hydnora was investigated using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD indicated that structures of all types are amorphous. The XRF results for the cover and seeds indicated that, both are contained Potassium (K), Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn) , Lead (Pb), Barium (Br), Strontium (Sr), Yttrium (Y). Optical properties of Hydnora were carried out using Fourier Transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Ultra violet spectroscopy (UV). The FTIR spectra showed a broad and strong absorption band in the range 1100-2920 cm -1 , and these absorptions were assigned to the different stretching vibrations. The absorption for Hydnora cover, root, seed 1 and seed 2 was found to be 1.8, 3.0, 0.83 and 0.37 a. u, while the wave length was found to be 235, 220, 200 and 195 nm, respectively. The energy band gap is calculated and found to be 5.46, 4.96, 5.50 and 5.60 eV, for cover, root, seeds 1 and seeds 2 of Hydnora, respectively.