Diffusion and Interaction Studies of Dye in Agarose Hydrogel Enriched with TiO₂ Nanoparticles: A Temperature-Dependent Analysis

¹ Department of Civil, GRIET, Bachupally, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
² Department of Civil Engineering, KG Reddy College of Engineering and Technology, Chilkur(Vil), Moinabad(M), Ranga Reddy(Dist), Hyderabad, 500075, Telangana, India.
³ Uttaranchal University, Dehradun - 248007, India
⁴ Centre of Research Impact and Outcome, Chitkara University, Rajpura - 140417, Punjab, India
⁵ Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India,
⁶ Chitkara Centre for Research and Development, Chitkara University, Himachal Pradesh - 174103 India
⁷ Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Research & Incubation Centre, Rayat Bahra University, Chandigarh-Ropar NH 205, Greater Mohali, Punjab, 140103, India

^* Corresponding author: vsrini51@gmail.com

Abstract

Abstract: The objective of this work is to examine the interactions and diffusion properties of a conventional dye inside an agarose hydrogel that has been enhanced with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles. The experiment is carried out at three specific temperatures (30°C, 40°C, and 50°C) and three varying values of concentration (0.2, 0.5, and 1 mg/g). Utilizing Fick’s equations of diffusion, we successfully calculated the surface concentrations (Cs) and effective diffusion coefficients (D) based on the experimental results. The influence of TiO2 nanoparticles on dye diffusion rates was shown by the observed drop in diffusion coefficients with proportional rise in the number of nanoparticles. Both the diffusion coefficient and the surface concentration have a propensity to enhance with an elevation in temperature. The results indicate that the distribution of pigments in hydrogels improved with TiO2 is controlled by temperature variability. The aforementioned discovery implies that the results might be used in controlled release systems, wastewater treatment, and materials research.