Influence of plant extract on the homogeneous and heterogeneous green chemistry synthesis of nanostructured ZnO

Abstract

In the present work, the influence of the nature of the plant extract on the synthesis of nanostructured ZnO via green chemistry was investigated. Two plant extracts were tested: Artemisia and Hibiscus. We noticed that Hibiscus plants prevented the growth of a film on the substrate, but resulted in nanoparticle formation. However, the Artemisia plant extract favours ZnO nanorod's growth on the substrate. We concluded that the low viscosity of Hibiscus favours homogeneous precipitation, whereas Artemisia, due to its larger viscosity, favours heterogeneous condensation on the substrate.Highlights The influence of the nature of the plant extract on the synthesis of nanostructured ZnO, that is, nanoparticles and nanorods, via green chemistry was investigated.Two plant extracts were tested: Artemisia and Hibiscus.Hibiscus plants prevented the growth of a film on the substrate but resulted in nanoparticle formation.Artemisia plant extract favoured ZnO nanorods growth on the substrate.This difference can be explained by the plant extract control of the condensation process in the solution.

Keywords

• Green chemistry
• nanoparticles
• ZnO
• deposition
• nanorods