plant-based synthesis of tio2-nps using papaver rhoeas leaf extract: a study of photocatalytic and antibacterial activities

This study involved synthesizing titanium dioxide nanoparticles (tio2-nps) using an aqueous extract of papaver rhoeas leaves, which acted as a stabilizing agent in a green synthesis process. multiple analytical techniques were used to characterize the resulting tio2-nps, including ultraviolet-visible, ft-ir, and x-ray diffraction (xrd) spectroscopy, along with field emission scanning electron microscopy (fesem). the xrd results verified both the purity and anatase crystal structure. using the debye-scherrer formula, the crystal size was determined to be 17.03 nm. electron microscopy revealed particle dimensions ranging from 40 to 60 nm. the photocatalytic activity of tio2-nps was evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue dye under uv light in an alkaline environment (ph = 9). the results demonstrated that 85% of the dye degradation was achieved under uv light within 120 min, indicating excellent photocatalytic performance. nonetheless, the biosynthesized tio2-nps showed no inhibitory effects against e. coli and s. aureus. the green synthesis approach and effective photocatalytic performance highlight the potential of papaver rhoeas leaf-stabilized tio2-nps as eco-friendly photocatalysts for dye degradation, but their lack of antibacterial activity indicates that further optimization or modification may be required for antibacterial applications.