Environmental Energy Production and Wastewater Treatment Using Synthesized Pd Nanoparticles with Biological and Photocatalytic Activity

Abstract

Metallic nanoparticles have attracted great attention in catalytic, medical diagnosis, and treatment research in recent years. The formation of palladium nanoparticles using rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) extract was carried out using the green synthesis method. The plant was extracted using 70% ethanol by microwave techniques. The novelty of this study is the investigation of the biological activities of green synthesis of Pd nanoparticles, such as DNA cleavage activity, antimicrobial activity, DPPH scavenging activity, and its electro-catalytic performance in alcohol oxidation. Additionally, photocatalytic activities were also evaluated. The characterization of synthesized palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) was performed by UV-spectrometry, XRD, FTIR, and TEM. According to TEM results, Pd nanoparticles were observed to have a spherical shape and an average particle size of 4.91 nm. The Pd NPs showed the photodegradation of MB solution by up to 79.9% at 120 min. The newly synthesized plant-mediated green synthesized Pd NPs showed the max and the min antimicrobial activity at 16 µg/mL and 256 µg/mL against L. pneumophila and C. albicans, respectively. The current density ratio of 48.22 mA/cm² obtained in the study indicates that the obtained materials may be of interest in different applications. According to the results obtained, a direct relationship of extract use is observed in the synthesis of Pd nanoparticles and is a good way to reduce and stabilize metal salts. It has been determined that green Pd NPs have potential for use in energy production from alcohol oxidation and in medical applications.