Phytolacca dodecandra leaf extract mediated synthesis of copper-doped zinc oxide nanoparticle and its application for methylen blue dye degradation

The green synthesis of nanoparticles is important due to its low cost, non-toxicity, simplicity in synthesis and environmental friendliness, compared to chemical synthesis methods. The purpose of this research was to explore the synthesis of zinc oxide (ZnO) and copper-doped (Cu@ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) using phytolacca dodecandra leaf extract. Dopping Cu into ZnO may help to overcome the limitations of bare ZnO by improving certain characteristics, with expectations of decrease in band-gap and particle size. In the synthesis of the nanoparticles, the concentration of precursors, the dopant concentration, and the plant extract volume were optimized based on the UV-Visible wavelength. Then, the materials were characterized. The UV–Vis spectra revealed higher absorbance aroun 350–363 nm, which is the typical band of ZnO NPs. The FTIR spectra indicated the existence of certain bands from the leaf extract in the synthesized NPs. Then, the XRD analysis confirmed that the materials possess the crystalline nature, with corresponding particle sizes measured 20.18 nm for ZnO, 21.02 nm for, 1 % Cu@ZnO, and 22.08 nm for 5 % Cu@ZnO. The catalytic activity of the materials were then analyzed for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. The results indicate that 1 % Cu@ZnO and ZnO NPs achived the degradation efficiencies of 82.28 % and 77.90 %, respectively, after 100 min of irradiation. A mechanism for the MB dye was also proposed based on exiciting literature and the characteristcs of the dye and catalyst. These verdicts shows the possible of green-synthesized nanoparticles as eco-friendly and efficient catalysts, suggesting that further exploration is warranted for broader applications.