Biosynthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using Jacaranda mimosifolia flowers extract: Synergistic antibacterial activity and molecular simulated facet specific adsorption studies

The naturally occurring biomolecules present in the plant extracts have been identified to play an active role in the single step formation of nanoparticles with varied morphologies and sizes which is greener and environmentally benign. In the present work, spherical zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) of 2–4nm size were synthesized using aqueous extract of fallen Jacaranda mimosifolia flowers (JMFs), treated as waste. The microwave assisted synthesis was completed successfully within 5min. Thereafter, phase identification, morphology and optical band gap of the synthesized ZnO NPs were done using X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and UV–Visible spectroscopy techniques. The composition of JMFs extract was analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and the ZnO NPs confirmation was further explored with fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The GC–MS results confirmed the presence of oleic acid which has high propensity of acting as a reducing and capping agent. The UV–Visible data suggested an optical band gap of 4.03eV for ZnO NPs indicating their small size due to quantum confinement. Further, facet specific adsorption of oleic acid on the surface of ZnO NPs was studied computationally to find out the impact of biomolecules in defining the shape and size of NPs. The viability of gram negative Escherichia coli and gram positive Enterococcus faecium bacteria was found to be 48% and 43%, respectively at high concentration of NPs. [Display omitted] •First report on greener synthesis of ZnO NPs with Jacaranda mimosifolia flowers extract•XRD and TEM analysis confirmed the average size is 2.0–4.0nm.•GC–MS confirmed Oleic acid as a capping agent for the biosynthesis of ZnO NPs•Facet specific binding of the oleic acid molecule on to the different facets of ZnO using computational technique•Enhanced antibacterial activity against pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecium