Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Nanoparticles: An environmentally friendly synthesis and characterization using pomegranate peel extract

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24237/04.01.498

Keywords:

ZnO NPs,, Pomegranate, Peel Extract,, Eco-friendly Method,, SEM, FTIR

Abstract

In this work, pomegranate peel extract was used to create zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in an eco-friendly way. Pomegranate peel extract and aqueous zinc nitrate salt (Zn(NO₃)₂.9H₂O), a zinc source, were reacted in the presence of 2 M of ammonia hydroxide (NH₄OH) to bring the pH of the solution to eight, and this formed the ZnO nanoparticles. To characterize the nanoparticles, FTIR, XRD, EDX, and SEM were used. In the FTIR spectra, zinc oxide was found as a band at 436 cm⁻¹. The XRD patterns verified that ZnO has a hexagonal phase structure, with an average crystal size of 26.7 nm. The EDX examination demonstrated the exceptional purity of the produced chemical because no impurities were discovered Each element in the sample can be precisely identified using EDX, and the results show zinc and oxygen with weight percentages of 82.80% and 17.20%, respectively. The theoretical percentage value is 80.339% and 19.66% for zinc and oxygen, respectively; this gives a high compatibility in the weight ratio between the theoretical and real calculations of the prepared compound. SEM investigation shows that the generated particles are spherical and have diameters between 24 and 44 nm.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

  • Rabah Nouri Hassoun, University of Diyala

    Rabah Nouri Hassoun Specialist in Physical and Industrial Chemistry and Nanotechnology. Holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree from the College of Science, University of Diyala. Research interests include green synthesis of nanoparticles (ZnO and ZnFe₂O₄), environmental applications, contaminated soil treatment, and spectroscopic analysis. Published both local and Scopus-indexed studies on nanoparticle preparation and their use in pollutant removal. Experienced in chemical synthesis, reflux techniques, and laboratory safety.

  • Ahmed Najem Abd, University of Diyala

     

    Prof. Dr. Ahmed Najem Abd, Lecturer at Ibn Al-Haytham College of Education, University of Baghdad, 2002-2005; Faculty Member at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Diyala, 2005-2012; Head of the Pharmacology and Physiology Branch, 2006-2008; Head of the Pathology Branch, 2008-2009; Head of the Surgery Branch, 2010-2011; Assistant Dean for Administrative Affairs, 2010-2012; Faculty Member at the College of Science, University of Diyala, 2012-present; Postgraduate Studies Coordinator in the Chemistry Department, 2014-2017; Member of the Ministerial Team for CBRN, 2014-present

  • Abdulwahhab Hameed Majeed, University of Diyala

    Assistant Professor Dr. Abdulwahhab Hameed Majeed is a faculty member at Diyala University, College of Science, Department of Chemistry. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Diyala University, College of Science, Department of Chemistry (2011–2012), a Master’s degree in Chemistry from Tikrit University, College of Science (2015), and a PhD in Chemistry from Tikrit University, College of Science, Department of Chemistry (2020). His general specialization is Philosophy of Chemistry, and his specific specialization is Industrial Chemistry / Nanotechnology.

References

[1] M. Naseer, U. Aslam, B. Khalid, and B. Chen, “Green route to synthesize Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles using leaf extracts of Cassia fistula and Melia azadarach and their antibacterial potential,” Sci. Rep., vol. 10, no. 1, p. 9055, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-65949-3

[2] H. R. Rajabi, F. Sajadiasl, H. Karimi, and Z. M. Alvand, “Green synthesis of zinc sulfide nanophotocatalysts using aqueous extract of Ficus Johannis plant for efficient photodegradation of some pollutants,” J. Mater. Res. Technol., vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 15638–15647, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2020.11.017

[3] R. Dobrucka and J. Długaszewska, “Biosynthesis and antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles using Trifolium pratense flower extract,” Saudi J. Biol. Sci., vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 517–523, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.05.016

[4] hAldalbahi, A., Alterary, S., Ali Abdullrahman Almoghim, R., Awad, M. A., Aldosari, N. S., Fahad Alghannam, S., ... & Abdulrahman Alrashed, R. (2020). Greener synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles: characterization and multifaceted applications. Molecules, 25(18), 4198.‏. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25184198

[5] M. M. Khan, M. H. Harunsani, A. L. Tan, M. Hojamberdiev, Y. A. Poi, and N. Ahmad, “Antibacterial studies of ZnO and Cu-doped ZnO nanoparticles synthesized using aqueous leaf extract of Stachytarpheta jamaicensis,” Bionanoscience, vol. 10, pp. 1037–1048, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12668-020-00775-5

[6] R. Yuvakkumar, J. Suresh, and S. I. Hong, “Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles,” Adv. Mater. Res., vol. 952, pp. 137–140, 2014. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.952.137

[7] S. Gunalan, R. Sivaraj, and V. Rajendran, “Green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles against bacterial and fungal pathogens,” Prog. Nat. Sci. Mater. Int., vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 693–700, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pnsc.2012.11.015

[8] A. Alnehia, A.-B. Al-Odayni, A. Al-Sharabi, A. H. Al-Hammadi, and W. S. Saeed, “Pomegranate Peel Extract‐Mediated Green Synthesis of ZnO‐NPs: Extract Concentration‐Dependent Structure, Optical, and Antibacterial Activity,” J. Chem., vol. 2022, no. 1, p. 9647793, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/9647793

[9] J. Xu, Y. Huang, S. Zhu, N. Abbes, X. Jing, and L. Zhang, “A review of the green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using plant extracts and their prospects for application in antibacterial textiles,” J. Eng. Fiber. Fabr., vol. 16, p. 15589250211046242, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/15589250211046242

[10] M. G. Demissie, F. K. Sabir, G. D. Edossa, and B. A. Gonfa, “Synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using leaf extract of lippia adoensis (koseret) and evaluation of its antibacterial activity,” J. Chem., vol. 2020, no. 1, p. 7459042, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7459042

[11] A. Alnehia, A. H. Al-Hammadi, A. Al-Sharabi, and H. Alnahari, “Short communication Optical, structural and morphological properties of ZnO and Fe+ 3 doped ZnO-NPs prepared by Foeniculum vulgare extract as capping agent for optoelectronic applications,” Inorg. Chem. Commun., vol. 143, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inoche.2022.109699

[12] W. Muhammad, N. Ullah, M. Haroon, and B. H. Abbasi, “Optical, morphological and biological analysis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using Papaver somniferum L.,” RSC Adv., vol. 9, no. 51, pp. 29541–29548, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9RA04424H

[13] W. Ahmad and D. Kalra, “Green synthesis, characterization and anti microbial activities of ZnO nanoparticles using Euphorbia hirta leaf extract,” J. King Saud Univ., vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 2358–2364, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2020.03.014

[14] X. Chen, H. Zhang, J. Li, and L. Chen, “Analysis of chemical compounds of pomegranate peel polyphenols and their antibacterial action against Ralstonia solanacearum,” South African J. Bot., vol. 140, pp. 4–10, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2021.03.021

[15] N. Seeram, R. Lee, M. Hardy, and D. Heber, “Rapid large scale purification of ellagitannins from pomegranate husk, a by-product of the commercial juice industry,” Sep. Purif. Technol., vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 49–55, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2004.04.003

[16] N. S. Al-Zoreky, “Antimicrobial activity of pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) fruit peels,” Int. J. Food Microbiol., vol. 134, no. 3, pp. 244–248, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2009.07.002

[17] A. Verbič, M. Šala, I. Jerman, and M. Gorjanc, “Novel green in situ synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles on cotton using pomegranate peel extract,” Materials (Basel)., vol. 14, no. 16, p. 4472, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14164472

[18] A. H. Hashem and G. S. El-Sayyad, “Antimicrobial and anticancer activities of biosynthesized bimetallic silver-zinc oxide nanoparticles (Ag-ZnO NPs) using pomegranate peel extract,” Biomass Convers. Biorefinery, pp. 1–13, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-04126-8

[19] M. Abu-Dalo, A. Jaradat, B. A. Albiss, and N. A. F. Al-Rawashdeh, “Green synthesis of TiO2 NPs/pristine pomegranate peel extract nanocomposite and its antimicrobial activity for water disinfection,” J. Environ. Chem. Eng., vol. 7, no. 5, p. 103370, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2019.103370

[20] S. Alamdari et al., “Preparation and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles using leaf extract of Sambucus ebulus,” Appl. Sci., vol. 10, no. 10, p. 3620, 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10103620

[21] S. Abel, J. L. Tesfaye, N. Nagaprasad, R. Shanmugam, L. P. Dwarampudi, and R. Krishnaraj, “Synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles using moringa leaf extract,” J. Nanomater., vol. 2021, no. 1, p. 4525770, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/4525770

[22] L. T. Jule, K. Ramaswamy, N. Nagaprasad, V. Shanmugam, and V. Vignesh, “Design and analysis of serial drilled hole in composite material,” Mater. Today Proc., vol. 45, pp. 5759–5763, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.02.587

[23] L. T. Jule, K. Ramaswamy, B. Bekele, A. Saka, and N. Nagaprasad, “Experimental investigation on the impacts of annealing temperatures on titanium dioxide nanoparticles structure, size and optical properties synthesized through sol-gel methods,” Mater. Today Proc., vol. 45, pp. 5752–5758, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.02.586

[24] T. Amuthan, N. Nagaprasad, R. Krishnaraj, V. Narasimharaj, B. Stalin, and V. Vignesh, “Experimental study of mechanical properties of AA6061 and AA7075 alloy joints using friction stir welding,” Mater. Today Proc., vol. 47, pp. 4330–4335, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.04.628

[25] E. K. Subramaniam, M. Sakthivel, K. Kanthavel, R. Krishnaraj, M. G. D. Marudachalam, and R. Palani, “Overall resource effectiveness, cycle time reduction & capacity improvements,” Int. J. Sci. Eng. Res., vol. 2, no. 8, pp. 1–5, 2011.

[26] S. I. Salih, J. K. Oleiwi, and A. S. Mohamed, “Investigation of mechanical properties of PMMA composite reinforced with different types of natural powders,” ARPN J. Eng. Appl. Sci., vol. 13, no. 22, pp. 8889–8900, 2018.

[27] A. M. Salim, N. M. Dawood, and R. Ghazi, “Pomegranate peel plant extract as potential corrosion inhibitor for mild carbon steel in a 1 M HCl solution,” in IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2020, vol. 987, no. 1, p. 12019. http://doi:10.1088/1757-899X/987/1/012019

[28] D. M. Yufanyi, A. M. Ondoh, J. Foba-Tendo, and K. J. Mbadcam, “Effect of decomposition temperature on the crystallinity of α-Fe2O3 (hematite) obtained from an iron (III)-hexamethylenetetramine precursor,” Am. J. Chem, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1–9, 2015.

[29] A. A. Chaudhari, U. J. Tupe, A. V Patil, and C. G. Dighavkar, “Synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles using green synthesis method,” Int. J. Creat. Res. Thoughts, vol. 10, pp. 302–309, 2022.

[30] C. Ondijo, F. Kengara, and I. K’Owino, “Synthesis, Characterization, and Evaluation of the Remediation Activity of Cissus quadrangularis Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle‐Activated Carbon Composite on Dieldrin in Aqueous Solution,” J. Nanotechnol., vol. 2022, no. 1, p. 2055024, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/2055024

[31] S. Pai, H. Sridevi, T. Varadavenkatesan, R. Vinayagam, and R. Selvaraj, “Photocatalytic zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesis using Peltophorum pterocarpum leaf extract and their characterization,” Optik (Stuttg)., vol. 185, pp. 248–255, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijleo.2019.03.101

[32] N. F. Alheety et al., “Antiproliferative and antimicrobial studies of novel organic-inorganic nanohybrids of ethyl 2-((5-methoxy-1H-benzo [d] imidazol-2-yl) thio) acetate (EMBIA) with TiO2 and ZnO,” J. Mol. Struct., vol. 1274, p. 134489, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molstruc.2022.134489

[33] S. Yedurkar, C. Maurya, and P. Mahanwar, “Biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using ixora coccinea leaf extract—a green approach,” Open J. Synth. Theory Appl., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1–14, 2016. http://doi:10.4236/ojsta.2016.51001

[34] V. N. Kalpana, B. A. S. Kataru, N. Sravani, T. Vigneshwari, A. Panneerselvam, and V. D. Rajeswari, “Biosynthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using culture filtrates of Aspergillus niger: Antimicrobial textiles and dye degradation studies,” OpenNano, vol. 3, pp. 48–55, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onano.2018.06.001

[35] S. N. Shah et al., “Synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles for antibacterial applications,” J. Basic Appl. Sci., vol. 12, pp. 205–210, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onano.2018.06.001

[36] S. Nagarajan and K. Arumugam Kuppusamy, “Extracellular synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticle using seaweeds of gulf of Mannar, India,” J. Nanobiotechnology, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 1–11, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-3155-11-39

[37] Q. Wang, Z. Zhang, S. M. Zakeeruddin, and M. Grätzel, “Enhancement of the performance of dye-sensitized solar cell by formation of shallow transport levels under visible light illumination,” J. Phys. Chem. C, vol. 112, no. 17, pp. 7084–7092, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1186/1477-3155-11-39

.

Downloads

Published

2026-01-30

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): Current Issue: Advances in Science

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 CC BY 4.0

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

albayati, R., Najem, A., & Hameed, A. (2026). Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Nanoparticles: An environmentally friendly synthesis and characterization using pomegranate peel extract. ٍِASJ - Academic Science Journal, 4(1), 16-25. https://doi.org/10.24237/04.01.498

Similar Articles

71-80 of 113

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.