Phytosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles for enhanced antioxidant, antibacterial, and photocatalytic properties: A greener approach to environmental sustainability

Multifunctional nanoparticle (NP) production from phytochemicals is a sustainable process and an eco-friendly method, and this technique has a variety of uses. To accomplish this, we developed the medicinal plant Tinospora cordifolia (TC) leaf extract-assisted zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs). Instruments such as UV–Vis, XRD, FTIR, FE-SEM with EDX, and high-resolution TEM were applied to characterize the biosynthesized TC-ZnONPs. According to the UV–vis spectra, the phytogenicall y synthesized TC-ZnONPs absorb at a wavelength centered at 374 nm, which corresponds to a 3.2 eV band gap. HRTEM was used to observe the morphology of the particle surface and the actual size of the nanostructures. TC-ZnONPs mostly exhibit the shapes of rectangles and triangles with a median size of 21 nm. The XRD data of the synthesized ZnONPs exhibited a number of peaks in the 2θ range, implying their crystalline nature. TC-ZnONPs proved remarkable free radical scavenging capacity on DPPH (2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid), and NO (Nitric Oxide). As oxidative stress is linked to the emergence of chronic diseases, TC-ZnONPs have demonstrated the potential for lowering it. TC-ZnONPs exhibited a dynamic anti-bacterial activity by inhibition zone against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (18 ± 1.5 mm), Escherichia coli (18 ± 1.0 mm), Bacillus cereus (19 ± 0.5 mm), and Staphylococcus aureus (13 ± 1.1 mm). Additionally, when exposed to sunlight, TC-ZnONPs show possible photocatalytic ability toward the destruction of methylene blue (MB) dye. These findings suggest that TC-ZnONPs are potential antioxidant, antibacterial, and photocatalytic agents.