Synergic formulation of Ipomoea batatas quercetin loaded with zinc oxide nanoparticles: Photocatalysis of the methylene blue and cango red dyes and biological evaluations

•Quercetin (QE) extracted from Ipomoea batatas (IB) was used to synthesize ZnO nanorods.•The extracted pure QE was confirmed by 1H-NMR, LC-MS, FTIR, and electrochemical techniques.•ZnO-QE nanoparticles were highly active in reducing dyes such as methylene blue and congo red with 92.07% and 89.2% efficiencies respectively in 50 minutes.•The in vitro antioxidant activity was found to be effective for ZnO-CE nanoparticles compared to ZnO-QE nanoparticles. In recent years, the synthesis of nanoparticles via "green routes" has emerged as a revolutionary technology. In this study, quercetin (QE) extracted from Ipomoea batatas (IB) was used to synthesize ZnO nanorods. The study examined the role of pure QE in the formation of ZnO nanorods and their ability to catalyze dye degradation and enhance antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The purity of the extracted quercetin was verified through 1H-NMR, LC-MS, FTIR, and electrochemical analyses. Hybrid formulations of ZnO-QE were characterized using a variety of analytical techniques including UV-visible spectroscopy, XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX, TEM, BET, PL spectroscopy, EIS, and ESR. These analyses revealed that ZnO-QE nanoparticles exhibited high efficacy in degrading dyes such as methylene blue and congo red, achieving efficiencies of 92.07% and 89.2%, respectively, within 50 minutes. Similarly, ZnO-CE nanoparticles synthesized using IB extracts demonstrated efficiencies of 92.08 % for MB and 85.27 % for CR within 80 minutes. The stability of the photocatalyst was confirmed for up to 5 cycles, with degradation products analyzed using LC-MS and TOC methods. Radical formation was detected using ESR (electron spin resonance). Furthermore, the hybrid formulations were evaluated for in vitro antioxidant and antibacterial activity. While ZnO-CE nanoparticles exhibited effective in vitro antioxidant activity compared to ZnO-QE nanoparticles,the latter demonstrated strong antibacterial activity against tested pathogens. This enhanced antibacterial activity of ZnO-CE nanoparticles is attributed to the presence of multiple phytochemicals involved in the reduction and stabilization process. These findings present promising avenues for the development of cost-effective photocatalyst materials with potential applications in biomedicine. [Display omitted]