Abstract
This work reports a green and environmentally benign method for synthesizing zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using aqueous extract of dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) peel biowaste as reducing and stabilizing agent. To understand the structural phase purity, morphology and size, green-synthesized ZnO NPs were characterized through various analytic techniques like XRD, FTIR, FESEM, TEM, EDX, XPS, UV–Vis, and Raman spectroscopy. The detailed characterizations confirmed that green-synthesized ZnO NPs are pure having spherical shape with an average size of 56 nm, well-crystalline, and possessing wurtzite hexagonal phase. The photocatalytic activity of the ZnO NPs has been investigated by carrying out the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye as a model pollutant under direct sunlight illumination in open atmosphere and the photodegradation process was monitored by UV–Vis spectroscopy and liquid chromatography-mass spectrophotometry (LC-MS) technique. Owing to nano-size and high purity, the green-synthesized ZnO NPs showed an excellent photocatalytic performance.
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