Green Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle by Using Argemone Mexicana
Satish N. Vaishnav
Department of Chemistry, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Arts and Science College, Ainpur Tal. Raver,
Pin-425507Corresponding author: drsatishvaishnav @gmail.com
Abstract
In the present study, the green synthesis
of ZnO nanoparticles was carried out by using extraction of Argemone Mexicana
plant. This is one of the low-cost natural way to synthesize the nanoparticles
for sustainable nature. The Argemone Mexicana play a role of natural reducing
and stabilizing agents by eliminating the prerequisite role of toxic chemical
used earlier for the synthesis. The zinc precursor, particularly, zinc acetate
was reacted with the plant extract under controlled conditions resulting in formation
ZnO nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray
diffraction, Field-effect Scanning Microscope and UV-Vis spectrophotometer to
investigate structural, morphological an optical behavior of the synthesized
nanoparticles. It is found that the synthesized ZnO nanpaticles possesses
hexagonal wurtzite ZnO structure with crystalline size range between 5-10 nm.
The optical properties exhibit the optical energy band gap around 3.03 eV. The green synthesis approach offers an
environmentally sustainable alternative to the conventional methods which is
quite hazardous. The zinc oxide nanoparticles has a significant potential to
use in fabrication of optoelectronic devices and as well as in antimicrobial
activity and photocatalysis applications.
Keywords: Argemone Mexicana, ZnO, XRD, FE-SEM
1 Introduction
Nanotechnology has emerged as a
rapidly advancing field due to the unique physicochemical properties of
materials at the nanoscale, which differ significantly from their bulk
counterparts [1,2]. Among various metal oxide nanoparticles, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles
have attracted considerable attention because of their wide band gap, high
exciton binding energy, chemical stability, and biocompatibility [3]. These
properties make ZnO nanoparticles highly suitable for diverse applications in
photocatalysis, optoelectronics, sensors, cosmetics, antimicrobial agents,
environmental remediation, and biomedical fields [3–5].
Conventional synthesis methods for
ZnO nanoparticles, such as chemical precipitation, sol–gel, and hydrothermal
techniques, often require toxic chemicals, high temperatures, and complex
processing steps, leading to environmental and health concerns [5,6]. To
overcome these limitations, green synthesis has emerged as an eco-friendly,
sustainable, and cost-effective alternative that aligns with the principles of
green chemistry [6,7].
Green synthesis utilizes biological
systems including plant extracts, microorganisms, and biomolecules as reducing,
stabilizing, and capping agents, thereby avoiding hazardous reagents and
minimizing energy consumption [7,8]. Among these approaches, plant-mediated
synthesis is particularly advantageous due to its simplicity, rapid reaction
rates, ease of scale-up, and availability of diverse phytochemicals [9,10].
These phytochemicals—such as flavonoids, alkaloids, phenolics, terpenoids, and
proteins—play a crucial role in metal ion reduction and nanoparticle
stabilization [10,11].
Several studies have reported the
successful green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using various plant extracts,
demonstrating excellent antimicrobial, catalytic, and photocatalytic properties
[12–17]. The size, morphology, and functional properties of ZnO nanoparticles
are strongly influenced by the nature of the plant extract and synthesis
parameters [9,13].
Argemone mexicana is a medicinal
plant widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions and is known for
its rich phytochemical profile and pharmacological importance [18]. The
presence of bioactive compounds in Argemone mexicana makes it a promising
candidate for the green synthesis of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles
[8,18]. However, limited studies are available on the synthesis of ZnO
nanoparticles using Argemone mexicana, highlighting the need for further
investigation.
The present study focuses on the
green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Argemone mexicana plant
extract as a natural reducing and capping agent. This environmentally benign
approach provides a sustainable route for ZnO nanoparticle synthesis while
enhancing their potential applicability in antimicrobial and environmental
applications [5,12,15].
Experimental Details
Zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O,
analytical grade) was used as the zinc precursor. Fresh leaves of Argemone
mexicana were collected locally. All chemicals were of analytical grade and
used without further purification. Double-distilled water was used throughout
the experiment
Fresh leaves of Argemone mexicana were
thoroughly washed with tap water followed by distilled water to remove dust and
impurities. The cleaned leaves were shade-dried and then finely chopped. About
10 g of chopped leaves were heated in 100 mL of distilled water at 70 °C for 30
minutes. The resulting mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature and
filtered using Whatman No. 1 filter paper. The clear filtrate obtained was used
as the plant extract for the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles.
An aqueous solution of zinc acetate
dihydrate (0.1 M) was prepared using distilled water. The prepared Argemone
mexicana leaf extract was added dropwise to the zinc acetate solution under
continuous magnetic stirring at room temperature. The pH of the reaction
mixture was adjusted to alkaline conditions (pH ~10) using sodium hydroxide
solution. The reaction mixture was stirred continuously for 3 hours until the
formation of a pale white precipitate was observed, indicating the formation of
zinc hydroxide precursor.
The obtained precipitate was centrifuged
and washed several times with distilled water followed by ethanol to remove
residual impurities and unreacted biomolecules. The purified precipitate was
then dried in a hot air oven at 100 °C for 12 hours. The dried powder was
subsequently calcined at 500 °C for 1 hours to obtain crystalline zinc oxide
nanoparticles.
The obtained Zinc oxide nanoparticles were
used to study its physical properties, particularly, structural and optical
properties. The study of structural property was carried by using X-ray
diffractometer, the surface morphology was investigated by using Field-effect
Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) and optical study was done via UV-Vis
spectrophotometer.
Result and Discussion
Figure 1: X-ray diffraction pattern of
green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles.
The FE-SEM image shown in figure 2
indicate that the growth of ZnO nanoparticles is uniform and possesses the
particle size of 5-10nm. The uniform growth of ZnO nanoparticles promises that
the natural green synthesis is the way forward to adopt the environmentally
sustainable route to industrial-scale the production of ZnO nanoparticles [17].
Figure 2: FE-SEM image of
green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles.
As
synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were dissolved in ethanol solution and sonicated
for 15 min. The concentration of solution was 0.5mg/ml. The quartz cuvette
having optical path length of 10mm. The baseline measurement was done with pure
ethanol solution followed by the measurement of ZnO nanoparticles solution. The
measuring range was 300 to 800 nm with the scan speed of 400nm/sec.
Figure 3: UV-Vis spectra of
green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles.
From
the Tac’s plot as shown in figure 4, we
have calculated the optical energy band gap of ZnO nanoparticles. It is found
that ZnO-Arge-Mxicana has an optical band-gap of 3.03 eV. So this wideband gap
material can be potentially useful for the optoelectronic devices particularly,
organic solar cell, organic light-emitting diode and transparent transistors.
Figure 4: Tac’s Plot
of (ahnd)2
vs hn for ZnO
nanoparticles synthesized by Argemone Mexicana plant extraction.
Conclusions
ZnO nanoparticles were successfully
synthesized by using agremone Mexicana
plant extraction. The X-ray diffraction pattern reveals the hexagonal wurtzite
crystal structure of the synthesized nanoparticles without any impurity. The
FE-SEM image confirms the obtained nanoparticles have a uniform particle size
of 5-10 nm. The UV-Vis spectra recorded in the range of 300-800nm exhibit optical band energy is around
3.03eV.
Acknowledgement
Author is greatly thankful to Principal
Dr. J. B. Anjane of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Arts and Science
College, Ainpur Tal. Raver for his valuable support to carry out the research
work. He is also thankful to Prin. Dr. R. R. Ahire for allowing me to perform
optical study at Department of Physics, Sitaram Govind Patil College, Sakri.
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