Artocarpus gomezianus aided green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles: Luminescence, photocatalytic and antioxidant properties

We report green synthesis of multifunctional ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) using Artocarpus gomezianus (AG) extract as fuel by solution combustion synthesis. The formation of NPs was confirmed by powder XRD, SEM, TEM and UV Visible studies. The NPs were subjected for photoluminescence, photodegradative and antioxidant studies. XRD data reveals that the ZnO NPs possess wurtzite structure. UV Visible spectrum shows absorbance maximum at 370 nm which corresponds to the energy band gap of 3.3 eV. Morphology studies indicate the highly porous nature of the NPs. PL spectra of NPs found to display very interesting blue, green and red emissions upon excitation at 325 nm. The NPs exhibit potential photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye upon exposure to sun light and UV light. ZnO NPs found to have considerable antioxidant activity against DPPH (2,2-dipheny1-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radicals. The study successfully demonstrates a simple and eco-friendly method for the synthesis of efficient multifunctional ZnO nanoparticles using green synthetic approach. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.