Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles using Centella asiatica

Nanoparticles of zinc oxide have received huge recognition credits due to unique properties, such as small size, large surface area, optical properties, and morphology. The plant centric approach using several parts and their extracts, is believed to be a recent technique which is simple and an economical strategy in synthesizing metal nanoparticles. This article relates to an easily approachable, environmentally safe and economical technique for synthesizing zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) from the extract of leaves of Centella asiatica. The zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized were characterized subsequently by Ultraviolet Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) methods. The absorption peak was obtained at 327nm, which indicates formation of ZnO Nanoparticles. The mean particle size and zeta potential were found to be 173.2 and -12.8mV. The X-ray diffraction showed well defined peak characteristic of the nanoparticles. The elemental composition of both Oxygen (O) and Zinc (Zn) was found in the sample with weight percentages 31% and 69% successively; and atomic percentages 64.74% and 35.26%. The surface morphology was estimated by SEM, and it was observed that the particles are almost spherical in shape.