Fig 1.
Green synthesis of Ap-ZnO nanoparticles from almond peel extract.
Fig 2.
UV-visible absorption spectra of almond peel extract and Ap-ZnO nanoparticles.
Fig 3.
(a) Low magnification and (b) high magnification FESEM images, and (c) corresponding EDS spectrum of Ap-ZnO nanoparticles. EDS was used to probe the elemental composition of the Ap-ZnO NPs.
Fig 4.
XRD pattern of Ap-ZnO nanoparticles.
Fig 5.
FTIR spectrum of Ap-ZnO nanoparticles.
Fig 6.
XPS spectra of Ap-ZnO nanoparticles:
(a) survey spectrum, (b) Zn 2p core level, (c) O 1s core level, and (d) C 1s core level.
Fig 7.
Photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of Ap-ZnO nanoparticles with Gaussian deconvolution of emission bands.
Fig 8.
(a) Photocatalytic degradation of CR under sunlight at different Ap-ZnO dosages, (b) time-dependent UV visible absorption spectra during degradation, (c) pseudo-first-order kinetic plots for CR degradation, (d) effect of different radical scavengers on the sunlight-driven degradation of CR over Ap-ZnO, and (e) reusability performance of Ap-ZnO during successive photocatalytic cycles.
Fig 9.
Proposed mechanism for sunlight-driven photocatalytic degradation of CR dye over Ap-ZnO nanoparticles (Created using BioRender.com).