Bioinspired Conyza bonariensis-mediated ZnO/rGO NCs for effective degradation of toxic compounds under visible-light irradiation

Abstract This study reports a green, cost-effective synthesis of ZnO/rGO nanocomposites (NCs) using Conyza bonariensis leaf extract as a novel bio-reducing agent. The nanocomposites were prepared via a simple hydrothermal method. Extensive characterization techniques including XRD, FT-IR, EDS, UV-DR...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rohit S. Madankar, Pavan Bhilkar, Mohammad Raish, Ajay Potbhare, Małgorzata Norek, Subhash Somkuwar, Ankita Daddemal-Chaudhary, Aniruddha Mondal, Ratiram Chaudhary
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03229-8
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849768686282342400
author Rohit S. Madankar
Pavan Bhilkar
Mohammad Raish
Ajay Potbhare
Małgorzata Norek
Subhash Somkuwar
Ankita Daddemal-Chaudhary
Aniruddha Mondal
Ratiram Chaudhary
author_facet Rohit S. Madankar
Pavan Bhilkar
Mohammad Raish
Ajay Potbhare
Małgorzata Norek
Subhash Somkuwar
Ankita Daddemal-Chaudhary
Aniruddha Mondal
Ratiram Chaudhary
author_sort Rohit S. Madankar
collection DOAJ
description Abstract This study reports a green, cost-effective synthesis of ZnO/rGO nanocomposites (NCs) using Conyza bonariensis leaf extract as a novel bio-reducing agent. The nanocomposites were prepared via a simple hydrothermal method. Extensive characterization techniques including XRD, FT-IR, EDS, UV-DRS, XPS, BET, SEM, TEM, and AFM were employed to evaluate the crystallite size, phase structure, chemical composition, surface morphology, porosity, and particle size of the synthesized material. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of a hexagonal wurtzite ZnO phase with an average crystallite size of approximately 17.22 nm, calculated using the Debye–Scherrer equation. SEM revealed a distinctive “tuberose flower”-like morphology of ZnO particles distributed on the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets, with flower diameters ranging from 1 to 2 μm and petal widths of 40–70 nm. Further, TEM supported the uniform distribution of ZnO tubular petals on graphene nanosheets. BET analysis demonstrated the mesoporous nature of NCs. Remarkably, the bioinspired ZnO/rGO NCs exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation, effectively degrading industrial dyes such as Congo red (CR), Methylene blue (MB), and Thymol blue (TB). The enhanced photocatalytic performance is attributed to the nanocomposites’ unique scaffold-like architecture, increased light absorption, and efficient charge separation.
format Article
id doaj-art-c51bfc3677f049b29d3e1fa4a9c4bdbc
institution DOAJ
issn 2045-2322
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Nature Portfolio
record_format Article
series Scientific Reports
spelling doaj-art-c51bfc3677f049b29d3e1fa4a9c4bdbc2025-08-20T03:03:42ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111910.1038/s41598-025-03229-8Bioinspired Conyza bonariensis-mediated ZnO/rGO NCs for effective degradation of toxic compounds under visible-light irradiationRohit S. Madankar0Pavan Bhilkar1Mohammad Raish2Ajay Potbhare3Małgorzata Norek4Subhash Somkuwar5Ankita Daddemal-Chaudhary6Aniruddha Mondal7Ratiram Chaudhary8Post Graduate Department of Chemistry, Seth Kesarimal Porwal College of Arts and Science and Commerce, Kamptee, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur UniversityPost Graduate Department of Chemistry, Seth Kesarimal Porwal College of Arts and Science and Commerce, Kamptee, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur UniversityDepartment of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, King Saud UniversityPost Graduate Department of Chemistry, Seth Kesarimal Porwal College of Arts and Science and Commerce, Kamptee, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur UniversityInstitute of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Advanced Technologies and Chemistry, Military University of TechnologyDepartment of Botany, Dr. Ambedkar CollegeDepartment of Botany, Lady Amritbai Daga College for Women of Arts, Commerce and ScienceCentre for Research Impact & Outcome, Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara UniversityPost Graduate Department of Chemistry, Seth Kesarimal Porwal College of Arts and Science and Commerce, Kamptee, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur UniversityAbstract This study reports a green, cost-effective synthesis of ZnO/rGO nanocomposites (NCs) using Conyza bonariensis leaf extract as a novel bio-reducing agent. The nanocomposites were prepared via a simple hydrothermal method. Extensive characterization techniques including XRD, FT-IR, EDS, UV-DRS, XPS, BET, SEM, TEM, and AFM were employed to evaluate the crystallite size, phase structure, chemical composition, surface morphology, porosity, and particle size of the synthesized material. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of a hexagonal wurtzite ZnO phase with an average crystallite size of approximately 17.22 nm, calculated using the Debye–Scherrer equation. SEM revealed a distinctive “tuberose flower”-like morphology of ZnO particles distributed on the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets, with flower diameters ranging from 1 to 2 μm and petal widths of 40–70 nm. Further, TEM supported the uniform distribution of ZnO tubular petals on graphene nanosheets. BET analysis demonstrated the mesoporous nature of NCs. Remarkably, the bioinspired ZnO/rGO NCs exhibited excellent photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation, effectively degrading industrial dyes such as Congo red (CR), Methylene blue (MB), and Thymol blue (TB). The enhanced photocatalytic performance is attributed to the nanocomposites’ unique scaffold-like architecture, increased light absorption, and efficient charge separation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03229-8Bioinspired ZnO/rGO NCsNature-inspired synthesisMesoporous materialPhotocatalytic performanceToxic dyesEnvironmental mitigation
spellingShingle Rohit S. Madankar
Pavan Bhilkar
Mohammad Raish
Ajay Potbhare
Małgorzata Norek
Subhash Somkuwar
Ankita Daddemal-Chaudhary
Aniruddha Mondal
Ratiram Chaudhary
Bioinspired Conyza bonariensis-mediated ZnO/rGO NCs for effective degradation of toxic compounds under visible-light irradiation
Scientific Reports
Bioinspired ZnO/rGO NCs
Nature-inspired synthesis
Mesoporous material
Photocatalytic performance
Toxic dyes
Environmental mitigation
title Bioinspired Conyza bonariensis-mediated ZnO/rGO NCs for effective degradation of toxic compounds under visible-light irradiation
title_full Bioinspired Conyza bonariensis-mediated ZnO/rGO NCs for effective degradation of toxic compounds under visible-light irradiation
title_fullStr Bioinspired Conyza bonariensis-mediated ZnO/rGO NCs for effective degradation of toxic compounds under visible-light irradiation
title_full_unstemmed Bioinspired Conyza bonariensis-mediated ZnO/rGO NCs for effective degradation of toxic compounds under visible-light irradiation
title_short Bioinspired Conyza bonariensis-mediated ZnO/rGO NCs for effective degradation of toxic compounds under visible-light irradiation
title_sort bioinspired conyza bonariensis mediated zno rgo ncs for effective degradation of toxic compounds under visible light irradiation
topic Bioinspired ZnO/rGO NCs
Nature-inspired synthesis
Mesoporous material
Photocatalytic performance
Toxic dyes
Environmental mitigation
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03229-8
work_keys_str_mv AT rohitsmadankar bioinspiredconyzabonariensismediatedznorgoncsforeffectivedegradationoftoxiccompoundsundervisiblelightirradiation
AT pavanbhilkar bioinspiredconyzabonariensismediatedznorgoncsforeffectivedegradationoftoxiccompoundsundervisiblelightirradiation
AT mohammadraish bioinspiredconyzabonariensismediatedznorgoncsforeffectivedegradationoftoxiccompoundsundervisiblelightirradiation
AT ajaypotbhare bioinspiredconyzabonariensismediatedznorgoncsforeffectivedegradationoftoxiccompoundsundervisiblelightirradiation
AT małgorzatanorek bioinspiredconyzabonariensismediatedznorgoncsforeffectivedegradationoftoxiccompoundsundervisiblelightirradiation
AT subhashsomkuwar bioinspiredconyzabonariensismediatedznorgoncsforeffectivedegradationoftoxiccompoundsundervisiblelightirradiation
AT ankitadaddemalchaudhary bioinspiredconyzabonariensismediatedznorgoncsforeffectivedegradationoftoxiccompoundsundervisiblelightirradiation
AT aniruddhamondal bioinspiredconyzabonariensismediatedznorgoncsforeffectivedegradationoftoxiccompoundsundervisiblelightirradiation
AT ratiramchaudhary bioinspiredconyzabonariensismediatedznorgoncsforeffectivedegradationoftoxiccompoundsundervisiblelightirradiation