Green Synthesis and Characterization of Alocasia indica Assisted Zirconium Dioxide Nanoparticles for Improved Antimicrobial Application

Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) are synthesized in different methods such as physical or chemical which are costly and harmful to the environment. However, green synthesis is a cost-effective and environment-friendly NPs synthesis approach. Green-synthesized NPs are highly effective against various bacterial strains. Zirconium dioxide nanoparticles (ZrO2NPs) have been synthesized in this research using a cost-effective green synthesis approach for improved antimicrobial activity. For the synthesis of the NPs, Alocasia indica has been used as a reducing agent. The extract of Alocasia indica was prepared and reacted with the light solution of ZrOCl2 ⋅ 8H2O. The successful formation of ZrO2NPs was confirmed by the color change in the solution. Some analytical techniques, including Ultraviolet-visible (UV) spectroscopy, Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and bacterial inhibition analyses have been performed to analyze the performance of the synthesized NPs. The peaks formed in the UV analysis also confirmed the formation of NPs in the solution. The presence of various functional groups in the synthesized ZrO2NPs has been confirmed by the FTIR analysis. TEM analysis revealed that the synthesized NPs were almost circular. The formation of peak confirmed the crystalline structure of the NPs. Impressively; a 99.99% bacterial inhibition rate was obtained against the gram-positive bacteria strain. The synthesized ZrO2NPs have great potential for biomedical applications such as medicine and implants for its excellent antimicrobial applications.