Non-Conventional Fabrication of Ag@ZnO Nanocomposite Core-Shell using Extract of Weed (Euphorbia hirta) Leaves

Abstract

Authors introduce a novel, economical and eco-friendly method to fabricate Silver@Zinc oxide nanocomposite core-shell (Ag@ZnO NC core-shell) with significant efficacy in many industrial sectors, medical, environment-remediation, waste-water treatment, etc. Explicitly focused on “Best out of Waste”, the extract of leaves of Weed (Euphorbia hirta) was employed to fabricate Ag@ZnO NC core-shell. Euphorbia hirta leaves are richly constituted with the bioactive phytochemicals which are promising reducing, capping and stabilizing agents. Validation of synthesized green Ag@ZnO NC core-shell was carried out by using standard characterization tools and techniques, viz., UV-vis spectrophotometer (UV-vis), Fluorescence spectrophotometer (FL), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). Data obtained from the characterization tools were analysed. With XRD the size of the green Ag@ZnO NC core-shell was found to be below 90 nm; whereas the structure and the polymorphic nature were revealed by HR-TEM and the selected area electron diffraction (SAED) respectively. Green Ag@ZnO NC core-shell has a vast range of industrial applications including eco-remediation. In comparison to many conventional synthesis methods for nano-materials, the non-conventional method of fabrication of Ag@ZnO NC core-shell is an economically viable, less time consuming, non-toxic and easy to handle.