Eco-friendly synthesized manganese dioxide nanoparticles using Tridax procumbens as potent antimicrobial and dye degrading agent

Manganese dioxide nanoparticles (MnO2 NPs) were synthesized via a typical green synthesis method involving Tridax procumbens (TP) leaf extract extraction and utilization. The as-prepared material was further characterized using various physio-chemical methods to comprehend its structural, morphological, and optical properties. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) reveals a tetragonal system with a space group of I 41/a m d, clearly indicating the presence of phytochemicals (impurity peaks at 25.46 degrees and 54.92 degrees diffraction angles). The calculated crystalline size of the sample was found to be 43 nm. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) results confirm the precursors of the as-prepared sample, also revealing the agglomerated structure. Furthermore, deeper morphology and crystallinity of the as-prepared MnO2 NPs have been studied through High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM) images, which affirms the information about calculated d-spacing value (0.328 nm) and confirming crystallinity through Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED) image. Absorption studies were conducted on as-prepared samples, which show a characteristic band at 257 nm, affirming the formation of MnO2 NPs. The same was utilized to evaluate the band gap energy (4.46 eV) through the Kubelka-Munk function. To further confirm the calculated particle size and stability of the as-prepared MnO2 NPs, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) analysis was conducted, and the results revealed that the particles' size was 58.72 nm. The prepared samples were subjected to study antimicrobial studies against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacterial species. The inhibition zone of the antibacterial disc soaked with as-prepared MnO2 NPs showed a significant increase compared to the TP leaf extract and commercially available MnO2 NPs. Also, the degradation of the Titan Yellow dye solution was conducted employing UV irradiation, and it was found that the maximum degradation percentage was attained after 120 min of irradiation. Furthermore, the pH effect on %degradation and reusability test were also conducted. The obtained results showed a pinnacle pH point of 4 where the degradation was maximum and found a decent decrement in %degradation after 4th usage. All the acquired results were utilized to study the degradation reaction kinetics, which was found that the present degradation holds good for both 0th and 1st order kinetic equations. Henceforth, the acquired results suggest that the green synthesized MnO2 NPs are potent candidates for antimicrobial and degrading activities.