Eco-Friendly Synthesis of Co3O4 Nanoparticles Using Ipomoea staphylina Leaf Extract: Photocatalytic, Antibacterial, and Antioxidant Properties

Cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) and Mn-doped Co₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized in a green, low-price, and eco-friendly manner via Ipomoea staphylina leaf extract. Characterization of the NPs was performed by XRD, FT-IR, UV-DRS, FE-SEM, EDX, XPS, and PL. XRD analysis was used to calculate the average crystallite size of Co₃O₄ NPS (28.37 nm) and Mn-doped Co₃O₄ NPs (24.98 nm) with a face-centered cubic system. As confirmed by FE-SEM, there is an agglomerated structure of the NPs. Mn doping caused the optical band gaps of the prepared NPs to decrease and move from E_g = 3.12 to 2.90 eV. Congo red and Acridine orange dyes undergo photocatalytic degradation when exposed to a mercury lamp (250 W, 365 nm) at room temperature. After 60 min of irradiation, 20 mg of Mn-Co₃O₄ NPs were used to achieve degradation of Congo red and Acridine orange, which is 94.45% and 66.24%, respectively. The Mn-Co₃O₄ NPs that were synthesized have excellent antibacterial properties against Bacillus subtilis bacteria (22 mm) among the tested bacteria. The Mn-Co₃O₄NPs were able to effectively inhibit 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals at 66.14%. These novel NPs extracted from Ipomoea staphylina can be effectively utilized for various environmental and medical applications.