Production of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Using Quercetin and Determination of Their Photocatalytic Activities

Project no. 32423 · Status: Kapanmış (Yayın bekleniyor) · 2024

Summary

<p class="ql-align-justify">The&nbsp;development&nbsp;of&nbsp;environmentally&nbsp;friendly&nbsp;green&nbsp;synthesis&nbsp;methods&nbsp;is&nbsp;of&nbsp;great&nbsp;significance&nbsp;for&nbsp;production&nbsp;processes,&nbsp;as&nbsp;these&nbsp;approaches&nbsp;reduce&nbsp;the&nbsp;use&nbsp;of&nbsp;toxic&nbsp;chemicals,&nbsp;enhance&nbsp;energy&nbsp;and&nbsp;resource&nbsp;efficiency,&nbsp;and&nbsp;minimize&nbsp;environmental&nbsp;impacts.&nbsp;Therefore,&nbsp;in&nbsp;this&nbsp;thesis&nbsp;study,&nbsp;ZnO&nbsp;nanoparticles&nbsp;were&nbsp;produced&nbsp;via&nbsp;a&nbsp;green&nbsp;synthesis&nbsp;approach&nbsp;using&nbsp;a&nbsp;natural&nbsp;flavonoid&nbsp;quercetin&nbsp;as&nbsp;a&nbsp;reducing&nbsp;agent.&nbsp;pH,&nbsp;calcination&nbsp;temperature,&nbsp;Zn²⁺&nbsp;concentration,&nbsp;reaction&nbsp;temperature,&nbsp;the&nbsp;type&nbsp;of&nbsp;zinc&nbsp;ion&nbsp;source,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;use&nbsp;of&nbsp;quercetin&nbsp;on&nbsp;ZnO&nbsp;nanoparticle&nbsp;formation&nbsp;were&nbsp;investigated&nbsp;in&nbsp;detail&nbsp;as&nbsp;the&nbsp;process&nbsp;parameters.&nbsp;Characterization&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;produced&nbsp;particles&nbsp;was&nbsp;carried&nbsp;out&nbsp;using&nbsp;Fourier-transform&nbsp;infrared&nbsp;spectroscopy&nbsp;(FTIR),&nbsp;zeta&nbsp;potential,&nbsp;scanning&nbsp;electron&nbsp;microscopy&nbsp;(SEM),&nbsp;dynamic&nbsp;light&nbsp;scattering&nbsp;(DLS),&nbsp;energy-dispersive&nbsp;X-ray&nbsp;spectroscopy&nbsp;(EDS),&nbsp;UV-Vis&nbsp;spectroscopy,&nbsp;thermogravimetric&nbsp;analysis&nbsp;(TGA)&nbsp;and&nbsp;X-ray&nbsp;diffraction&nbsp;(XRD)&nbsp;analyses.&nbsp;SEM&nbsp;results&nbsp;confirmed&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;ZnO&nbsp;nanoparticles&nbsp;possessed&nbsp;a&nbsp;spherical&nbsp;morphology&nbsp;with&nbsp;a&nbsp;homogeneous&nbsp;distribution.&nbsp;FTIR&nbsp;analysis&nbsp;identified&nbsp;the&nbsp;functional&nbsp;groups&nbsp;contributing&nbsp;to&nbsp;nanoparticle&nbsp;stability&nbsp;and&nbsp;revealed&nbsp;the&nbsp;presence&nbsp;of&nbsp;quercetin&nbsp;bound&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;surface&nbsp;as&nbsp;the&nbsp;pH&nbsp;increased.&nbsp;XRD&nbsp;analysis&nbsp;confirmed&nbsp;the&nbsp;presence&nbsp;of&nbsp;ZnO&nbsp;and&nbsp;showed&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;particles&nbsp;exhibited&nbsp;a&nbsp;hexagonal&nbsp;wurtzite&nbsp;crystal&nbsp;structure.&nbsp;Zeta&nbsp;potential&nbsp;measurements&nbsp;demonstrated&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;surface&nbsp;charge&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;particles&nbsp;shifted&nbsp;from&nbsp;positive&nbsp;to&nbsp;negative&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;presence&nbsp;of&nbsp;quercetin.&nbsp;Absorbance&nbsp;measurements&nbsp;indicated&nbsp;a&nbsp;band&nbsp;gap&nbsp;of&nbsp;approximately&nbsp;2.9–3.0&nbsp;eV&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;nanoparticles.</p><p class="ql-align-justify">The&nbsp;photocatalytic&nbsp;activities&nbsp;of&nbsp;all&nbsp;ZnO&nbsp;nanoparticles&nbsp;synthesized&nbsp;under&nbsp;varying&nbsp;process&nbsp;parameters&nbsp;were&nbsp;also&nbsp;tested.&nbsp;Methylene&nbsp;blue&nbsp;is&nbsp;selected&nbsp;as&nbsp;a&nbsp;model&nbsp;pollutant&nbsp;for&nbsp;this&nbsp;purpose.&nbsp;The&nbsp;ZnO&nbsp;nanoparticles&nbsp;exhibited&nbsp;high&nbsp;photocatalytic&nbsp;activity,&nbsp;achieving&nbsp;approximately&nbsp;96%&nbsp;dye&nbsp;degradation&nbsp;after&nbsp;4&nbsp;hours&nbsp;under&nbsp;UVA&nbsp;radiation.&nbsp;</p><p class="ql-align-justify">This&nbsp;work&nbsp;gives&nbsp;contribution&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;green&nbsp;nanotechnology&nbsp;field&nbsp;by&nbsp;presenting&nbsp;a&nbsp;sustainable&nbsp;synthesis&nbsp;approach&nbsp;for&nbsp;ZnO&nbsp;nanoparticles.&nbsp;The&nbsp;results&nbsp;indicate&nbsp;that&nbsp;quercetin-assisted&nbsp;ZnO&nbsp;nanoparticles&nbsp;are&nbsp;an&nbsp;environmentally&nbsp;friendly&nbsp;and&nbsp;effective&nbsp;photocatalyst&nbsp;for&nbsp;wastewater&nbsp;treatment.</p>

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