Issue 1, 2024

Phase controlled green synthesis of wurtzite (P63mc) ZnO nanoparticles: interplay of green ligands with precursor anions, anisotropy and photocatalysis

Abstract

Green approaches for nanosynthesis often lack the precise control of synthetic outcomes, which is primarily due to the poorly defined reaction protocols. Herein, we investigated the use of lignocellulosic agro-waste, sugarcane press mud (PM), for the synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using three different precursor salts and their further application in the photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine dyes. This approach resulted in the formation of ZnO nanoparticles with two different morphologies, i.e., sheet-like structure from the zinc sulphate and nitrate precursors, whereas sphere-like structures from zinc acetate. In all three cases, the wurtzite phase (P63mc) of ZnO nanoparticles remained consistent. Also, the ZnO nanoparticles were found to be positively charged (“ζ” = +8.81 to +9.22 mv) and nearly monodispersed, with a size and band gap in the range of ∼14–20 nm and 3.78–4.1 eV, respectively. Further, the potential photocatalytic activity of these nanoparticles was investigated under direct sunlight. At the same photocatalyst dose of 0.1 g L−1, the three ZnO nanoparticles showed varying efficiencies due to their shape anisotropy. The ZnO NPs from acetate salt (∼20 nm, sheet like) showed the highest dye degradation efficiency (90.03%) in 4.0 hours, indicating the role of the catalyst–dye interface in designing efficient photocatalysts.

Graphical abstract: Phase controlled green synthesis of wurtzite (P63mc) ZnO nanoparticles: interplay of green ligands with precursor anions, anisotropy and photocatalysis

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Aug 2023
Accepted
06 Nov 2023
First published
17 Nov 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Adv., 2024,6, 155-169

Phase controlled green synthesis of wurtzite (P63mc) ZnO nanoparticles: interplay of green ligands with precursor anions, anisotropy and photocatalysis

L. M. Verma, A. Kumar, A. U. Bashir, U. Gangwar, P. P. Ingole and S. Sharma, Nanoscale Adv., 2024, 6, 155 DOI: 10.1039/D3NA00596H

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