Green synthesis of sorbus pohuashanensis/aronia melanocarpa extracts functionalized ZnO nanoclusters and their applications

Abstract

ZnO nanoclusters (ZnO NCs) had been widely utilized in optoelectronics, sensors, dye removal, and antibacterial fields. To reduce or avoid the use of toxic, harmful, and costly chemical reagents, the Sorbus pohuashanensis and Aronia melanocarpa extracts were used to green synthesize ZnO NCs with superior adsorption ability for the organic dyes. The obtained ZnO NCs were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy (UV–vis), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). TEM and SEM results indicated that the ZnO NCs tended to aggregate into large branching and sheet structures. EDS measurement confirmed the presence of zinc ions on the ZnO NCs. FTIR results revealed that the components of the fruits extracts were bounded on the surface of ZnO NCs. The primary application experiments demonstrated that the Sorbus pohuashanensis and Aronia melanocarpa extracts functionalized ZnO NCs possess effectively removing activity for organic dyes.

Keywords

• green synthesis
• ZnO nanoclusters
• sorbus pohuashanensis
• aronia melanocarpa
• plant extracts
• dye removal