Decoding Plant-Based Green Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles

This study presents, for the first time, the comparison of behavior between two commonly found plant species, their extracts, and their major constituents (glucose and sucrose constituting over 70% of their dried extract) to synthesize zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) from zinc nitrate hexahydrate. The findings underscore the critical role of sugars as key constituents in facilitating this synthesis. This research demonstrates that the process can occur at relatively low temperatures (120°C). However, it necessitates a specific ratio of reactants to produce "clean" ZnO NPs. These findings offer significant insights into the optimization and control of the nanoparticle synthesis process.