Antibacterial and Photocatalytic Properties of ZnO Nanoparticles Obtained from Chemical versus Saponaria officinalis Extract-Mediated Synthesis

Abstract

In the present work, the properties of ZnO nanoparticles obtained using an eco-friendly synthesis (biomediated methods in microwave irradiation) were studied. Saponaria officinalis extracts were used as both reducing and capping agents in the green nanochemistry synthesis of ZnO. Inorganic zinc oxide nanopowders were successfully prepared by a modified hydrothermal method and plant extract-mediated method. The influence of microwave irradiation was studied in both cases. The size, composition, crystallinity and morphology of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) were investigated using dynamic light scattering (DLS), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM-EDX microscopy. Tunings of the nanochemistry reaction conditions (Zn precursor, structuring agent), ZnO NPs with various shapes were obtained, from quasi-spherical to flower-like. The optical properties and photocatalytic activity (degradation of methylene blue as model compound) were also investigated. ZnO nanopowders’ antibacterial activity was tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains to evidence the influence of the vegetal extract-mediated synthesis on the biological activity.

Facile In Situ Synthesis of ZnO Flower-like Hierarchical Nanostructures by the Microwave Irradiation Method for Multifunctional Textile Coatings

“…The photocatalytic activity of synthesized ZnO NPs was evaluated by the degradation of Methylene blue (MB) at room temperature using solar light and low pressure mercury lamp as a radiation source. The optimum conditions for the experiment (initial concentration of dye, the loading of catalyst, time of stirring to achieve full adsorption on solid) were determined and reported in our previous study [30].…”

“…The exposure to microwave irradiation was 5 and 15 min, and temperature was set as 90 and 120 • C according to our previous work [30].…”

“…Pseudo-first-order constants, half-life times, and the photodegradation efficiency were calculated using the following formulas [30]:…”

“…Microwave instruments have become more efficient and cheaper and are now increasingly being used as reactors for a wide variety of synthesis operations [29]. Previously, our group successfully employed this method to controllably grow flower-like ZnO nanostructures in the presence of Saponaria officinalis extracts [30].…”

A Novel N-Doped Nanoporous Bio-Graphene Synthesized from Pistacia lentiscus Gum and Its Nanocomposite with WO3 Nanoparticles: Visible-Light-Driven Photocatalytic Activity

“…Different technologies, such as chemical coagulation, adsorption, filtration, reverse osmosis, and catalytic or photocatalytic treatment have been used to remove chemical contaminants [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. In recent years, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) utilizing catalysts have been applied as efficient methods to eliminate organic pollutants by degrading them into harmless substances via electron-hole generation under light irradiation or in the presence of oxidants [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”