TiO₂ (rutile) embedded inulin--A versatile bio-nanocomposite for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue.

Inulin, a water soluble carbohydrate polymer, was extracted from Allium sativum L. by hot water diffusion method. A novel bio-nanocomposite was prepared by embedding TiO2 (rutile) onto the inulin matrix. The extracted inulin and the prepared bio-nanocomposite were characterized using UV-vis, FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM and TGA techniques. The photocatalytic activity of the bio-nanocomposite for the degradation of methylene blue was studied under UV illumination in batch mode experiment and was found to be twice as high as that of pristine TiO2. The kapp for inulin-TiO2 (0.0449 min(-1)) was higher than that for TiO2 (0.0325 min(-1)) which may be due to the synergistic action of inulin and TiO2. The stabilization of photo excited electron suppressed the electron-hole pair recombination thereby inducing the electrons and the holes to participate in the photo reduction and oxidation processes, respectively and enhancing the photocatalytic activity.