• Shubhangi P. Patil
• Arslan M. Shaikh
• Rahul R. Baviskar
• Guruprasad R. Mavlankar
• Minakshi N. Bhatu

With the world gravitating towards a greener and sustainable method in various sectors, the synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles is also seen to be shifting from convectional to economically sound methods. In this context, herein, an eco-friendly phytochemical method has been used to synthesize and evaluate photocatalytic activity of CuO and ZnO nanoparticles. The phytochemical extract was prepared by using Azadirachta indica (neem) leaf, Hylocerus undatus (dragon fruit) fruit peel and Vigna unguiculate (Black-eyed beans) sprouting water. Further, the samples which showed good photocatalytic reduction were characterized by using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) which revealed the mean sizes of the particle to be 61 nm, 45 nm & 37 nm for ZnO (neem), ZnO (dragon fruit) & CuO (neem) respectively. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) study disclosed that the samples were more amorphous in nature. Surface analysis of samples using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the agglomeration of spherical and irregular - shaped particles. The presence of reducing agents i.e., various functional molecules & metal-oxide nanoparticles were further confirmed by FTIR analysis. The photocatalytic study of the CuO (neem) nanoparticles with methylene blue revealed 90.43% degradation of the dye in the period of 15 minutes while the reaction was studied for 120 minutes.

Metal Oxide Nanoparticles, Phytochemical Synthesis, Catalytic degradation, Long time Reaction.

"NATURAL PRODUCTS ASSISTED SYNTHESIS OF CuO AND ZnO NANOPARTICLES FOR THE CATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF METHYLENE BLUE DYE FOR LONGER PERIOD", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.9, Issue 10, page no.c373-c392, October-2022, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2210248.pdf

"NATURAL PRODUCTS ASSISTED SYNTHESIS OF CuO AND ZnO NANOPARTICLES FOR THE CATALYTIC DEGRADATION OF METHYLENE BLUE DYE FOR LONGER PERIOD", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.9, Issue 10, page no. ppc373-c392, October-2022, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2210248.pdf