Synthesis and characterization of zirconium oxide nanoparticles using Z. officinale and S. aromaticum plant extracts for antibacterial application

Abstract

The dramatic rise in bacterial infections and increased resistance to conventional antibiotics has led to the exploration of biologically derived nanomaterials to counteract bacterial activity. Nanotechnology, which deals with materials at the atomic or molecular level, is a promising way to achieve this goal. Zirconium oxide nanoparticles (ZrO2NPs) have shown strong antibacterial effects due to the increased surface-to-volume ratio at the nanoscale. This study focused on the production of ZrO2NPs in an environmentally friendly manner, which included extracts from Zingiber officinale (ginger), where G-ZrO2NPs were produced, and Syzygium aromaticum (clove), which produced S-ZrO2NPs. Various techniques were used, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) for structural examination, while for morphological properties, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was used and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) form composition. Differential reflection spectroscopy (DRS) was employed to determine the energy gap of prepared samples. In contrast, the knowledge of the organic chemical bonds and their association with zirconium ions were distinguished by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and the zeta potential was used to identify the surface charge of the nanoparticles. G-ZrO2NPs showed monoclinic and tetragonal phases, with crystallite sizes of approximately 14.28 nm and 16.80 nm, respectively, whereas tetragonal structure was revealed for S-ZrO2NPs with a crystallite size of about 13.69 nm. Spherical nanoparticle morphology with some agglomeration was shown in G-ZrO2NPs. The prepared G-ZrO2NPs and S-ZrO2NPs samples have direct energy gaps of 4.98 eV and 4.84 eV, respectively. Zeta potential measurements indicated -15.3 mV for G-ZrO2NPs and -25.8 mV for S-ZrO2NPs.This research confirms the potential of manufactured and environmentally friendly ZrO2NPs as effective agents against bacterial pathogens. Notably, gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria experienced significant effects, with S-ZrO2NPs showing more effective bactericidal activity than G-ZrO2NPs.