Comparative study on organic effluent degradation capabilities and electrical transport properties of polygonal...

The present work highlights biosynthesis of nano-sized heterometalic spinel ZnCo₂O₄ particles using different green extracts as capping agent. In this work we have fabricated polygonal ZnCo₂O₄ with Punica granatum peel extract, Camellia sinensis extract, Moringa oleifera leaf extract and green coffee beans extract in an effortless green pathway. Phase pure material synthesis was confirmed using XRD. Microstructural, morphological, compositional and optical characterisations has been carried out using TEM, FESEM, EDX, FTIR, photoluminescence and UV-Vis spectroscopy. Punica granatum peel extract assisted ZnCo₂O₄ sample shows superior catalytic efficiency of ~84.96% for Rhodamine B pollutant. ZnCo₂O₄ sample synthesized using pomegranate peel extract shows highest conductivity of ~8.074 × 10^-5 Ω^-1 cm^-1 with activation energy of 2.099 eV at 503 K. Synthesized nanoparticles also show antibacterial activity for B. megaterium, B. subtilis and B. cereus. To the best of our knowledge, synthesis of ZnCo₂O₄ using these four green extracts and their comparative degradation capability, electrical properties and antibacterial study is explained for the first time in this work.