Green synthesis of SnO2 nanoparticle using Lycopersicon esculentum peel extract

In this work, different amounts of Lycopersicon esculentum peel extract were used in a low cost, non-toxic green synthesis of tin dioxide nanoparticles. The generated nanoparticles presented the following characteristics: Sn-O bond at 666 cm(-1); crystalline growth in a purely tetragonal crystal structure; a different size and shape homogeneity, depending on the amount of extract used; and a band gap of around 3.3 eV. Of the generated nanoparticles, the sample with 4% peel extract presented a UV-light photocatalytic degradation rate of methylene blue of around 100% at 120 min; these results are better than those achieved by commercially available tin dioxide nanoparticles. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.