Antibacterial and photocatalytic behaviour of green synthesis of Zn0.95Ag0.05O nanoparticles using herbal medicine extract

The present work aimed to synthesize Zn0.95Ag0.05O (ZnAgO) nanoparticles using rosemary leaf extracts as a green chemistry method. The characterization of Ag-doped ZnO nanoparticles was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry (UV-visible). The XRD, FTIR, and UV-visible spectra confirmed the formation of the presence of hexagonal ZnAgO nanoparticles. FESEM micrograph shows that the nanoparticles have been distributed homogeneously and uniformly. The morphology of ZnAgO nanoparticles is quasi-spherical configuration. Also, the mean particle size is in the range of 22-40 nm. The photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue in the presence of Ag-doped ZnO nanoparticles is nearly 98.5% after exposing 100 min. The ultraviolet lamp was used as the light source for photocatalyst degradation. The disc diffusion method was chosen to study the antibacterial activity of as-synthesized ZnAgO nanoparticles. Antibacterial activity of Zn0.95Ag0.05O nanoparticles against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli revealed that the assynthesized ZnAgO nanoparticles were efficient in inhibition of bacterial growth.

Automated summary

This study synthesized ZnAgO nanoparticles using rosemary leaf extracts and characterized them using various methods, confirming their hexagonal structure and high efficiency in photocatalytic degradation and antibacterial activity.