Annona reticulata fruit-based phytosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles and assess antioxidant, antibacterial and photocatalytic degradation of textile dyes

The release of textile dyes into water systems poses a significant risk of increasing the prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) organisms, which can have a detrimental effect on the health of both humans and animals. The efficacy of this method in the efficient removal of multidrug-resistant (MDR) organisms and deleterious dyes from effluent treatment for the purpose of environmental remediation is highly promising. The present study introduces novel zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) that are made using Annona reticulata fruit extract as a reducing agent in a green production method. We employed UV–Vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) to analyse the ARF-ZnONPs that were generated through biosynthesis. The antibacterial effects of green synthesised ARF-ZnONPs were evaluated against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In addition, the degradation of azo dyes (methylene blue and reactive red 120) was measured under direct sunlight exposure. The ARF-ZnONPs were obtained with an absorption peak maximum at 369 nm, as evidenced by the UV–Vis spectrum. According to the research, the nucleation and stability of ARF-ZnONPs are influenced by phenolic compounds, alkaloids, terpenoids, and proteins present in the fruit extract of A. reticulata, as demonstrated by FT-IR analysis. A hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure is demonstrated in the XRD pattern of ARF-ZnONPs, with an average particle size of approximately 52 nm. The EDX spectrum verified the presence of the element Zn, and the FE-SEM image featured a hexagonal architecture. Against S. aureus, the maximum area of inhibition was 21.23 ± 0.35 mm, while against P. aeruginosa, it was 19.34 ± 0.26 mm. The degradation of azo dyes (MB and RR 120) was measured under direct sunlight exposure to evaluate the photocatalytic efficiency of ARF-ZnONPs. Thus, the aforementioned findings indicate that the ARF-ZnONPs synthesised using the environmentally benign method can be employed for a diverse array of antibacterial and environmental applications.