Sunlight Photocatalytic Performance of ZnO Nanoparticles Synthesized by Green Chemistry Using Different Botanical Extracts and Zinc Acetate as a Precursor.

In this work, the assessment of , , , and extracts as catalysts for the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) was performed. The photocatalytic properties of ZnO NPs were investigated by the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) dye under sunlight irradiation. UV-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric (TGA), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis (BET) were used for the characterization of samples. The XRD results indicate that all synthesized nanoparticles have a hexagonal wurtzite crystalline structure, which was confirmed by TEM. Further, TEM analysis proved the formation of spherical and hemispherical nanoparticles of ZnO with a size in the range of 14-32 nm, which were found in aggregate shape; such a size was well below the size of the particles synthesized with no extract (~43 nm). ZnO NPs produced with and showed the best photocatalytic activity, matching with the maximum adsorbed MB molecules (45.41 and 58.73%, respectively). MB was completely degraded in 45 min using and 120 min using when subjected to solar irradiation.