Environmental & Analytical Toxicology

Photocatalytic Degradation of Toxic Methyl Red Dye Using Silica Nanoparticles Synthesized from Rice Husk Ash

Abstract

Vinoda BM, Vinuth M, Yadav D Bodke and Manjanna J

Herein we reported the preparation and potential application of SiO2 NPs (SiO2 NPs) for the photocatalytic degradation of methyl red dye in aqueous medium. These are synthesized from rice husk ash (RHA) which was collected from rice mill near Shankaraghatta (Shimoga, Karnataka). Silica was present in large quantity in RHA, hence it can be extracted by an alkaline precipitation method was developed to produce pure silica xerogel. From XRD and FTIR analysis revealed the amorphous nature of SiO2 NPs along with the presence of siloxane group. TEM image confirms the formation of SiO2 NPs at 10 to 20 nm range. Furthermore the stabilization and formation of SiO2 NPs was confirmed by SEM/EDAX and TEM analysis. The photo catalytic activity of prepared pure SiO2 NPs towards remediation of dyes like Methyl red (MR) dye has been tested.