Green Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle by Using Argemone Mexicana

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.