InO nanocapsules for rapid photodegradation of crystal violet dye under sunlight.

We report, a shape controlled novel synthesis of Indium oxide (InO) nanocapsule using biogenic reflux method. The InO samples were obtained through optimization of the concentration of sodium citrate, which played a significant role to tune the size of nanocapsules. All synthesized InO samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The morphological study reflects the effect of sodium citrate on the size of nanocapsules and confirms the formation of nanocapsules in the range of 50 nm. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of InO nanocapsules based photocatalyst was carried out for the degradation of Crystal Violet (CV) dye under natural sunlight illumination. The experiment revealed that the InO nanocapsule efficiently degrades 90% of CV within 180 min. This effort recommends the synthesis of InO nanocapsule based photocatalyst for rapid degradation of CV under natural sunlight illumination.