Separation and Purification Technology 191 (2018) 295–300

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Separation and Purification Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/seppur

Melissa Officinalis L. leaf extract assisted green synthesis of CuO/ZnO T

nanocomposite for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and Rhodamine B
⁎ ⁎
Maryam Bordbara,b, , Neda Negahdara, Mahmoud Nasrollahzadeha,b,
a
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Qom, Qom 37185-359, Iran
b
Center of Environmental Researches, University of Qom, Qom, Iran

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: CuO/ZnO nanocomposite has been synthesized using Melissa Officinalis L. leaf extract as a mild, renewable and
CuO/ZnO nanocomposite non-toxic reducing agent and efficient stabilizer in the absence of hazardous and toxic materials. SEM, EDS,
NaBH4 elemental mapping, TEM and XRD have been used for the characterization of CuO/ZnO nanocomposite. CuO
Melissa Officinalis L. nanoparticles (NPs) with sizes in the 10–20 nm range have been formed, as shown by TEM micrograph.
4-Nitrophenol
Furthermore, excellent catalytic activity in the degradation of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and Rhodamine B (RhB) in
Rhodamine B
water at ambient temperature has been shown by CuO/ZnO nanocomposite.

1. Introduction environmentally friendliness and highly versatile device fabrication

Toxic dyes and nitroarene compounds are highly hazardous in the
environment and are potentially toxic toward humans, animals and plants.
Thus, the degradation of organic dyes is of great environmental and in-
dustrial importance. Environmentally acceptable processes in the catalytic
reduction of colorless organic pollutants are becoming increasingly ne-
cessary [1]. A well-known example of such organic pollutants is 4-ni-
trophenol (4-NP), which is a toxic and bio-refractory compound, damaging
the central nervous system, liver, kidney and blood of humans and animals
and causing various diseases [2]. The high stability and low solubility of 4-
NP in water makes its degradation to non-dangerous products difficult. 4-
Aminophenol (4-AP), the reduction product of 4-NP, is widely applied in
the preparation of analgesic and antipyretic drugs as a photographic de-
veloper and corrosion inhibition [3], making the reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP
greatly important both environmentally and industrially. Metal nano-
particles (MNPs) catalyze the reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP by facilitating
electron relay from the donor BH4 to the acceptor 4-NP to overcome the
kinetic barrier [4].
CuO NPs are MNPs catalysts, which play an important part in the
overall catalytic performance [5]. Nevertheless, there are disadvantages
associated with CuO NPs such as difficulty of quantitative separation
from the reaction mixture, impossibility to recycle, excess use of Cu
reagents and agglomeration [5]. To overcome these problems, CuO NPs
have recently been supported on solid supports such as zeolites to form
composite catalysts [6]. ZnO NPs are inorganic compounds widely
applied as efficient supports for the immobilization of the MNPs given
their exceptional opto-electronic properties, low synthesis cost,
[7–10]. Thus, the development of a simple method for the synthesis of
well dispersed, stable CuO NPs and their immobilization on an effective
support is highly desirable.
Bio-derived materials are alternative environmentally benign sup-
ports in this regard. The advantages of biological methods compared
with other methods are: (i) no costly and poisonous capping agents or
stabilizers are required, (ii) high temperature calcinations are not ne-
cessary for the preparation of the final product, (iii) no poisonous or-
ganic solvent or hazardous materials are required and (iv) the methods
can be easily scaled up. A metal NP preparation method using various
plant extracts or tree gums has recently been reported [4,5,11–14].
However, the agglomeration of metal NPs during catalytic reactions is
unavoidable [4,15,16].
Hence, in our experiment, Melissa Officinalis L. (lemon balm) leaf
extract has been used to synthesize CuO/ZnO nanocatalyst. Melissa
Officinalis L. is a well-known medicinal plant from the family of la-
miaceae. The many pharmacological actions of Melissa Officinalis L.
include purgation, antibacterial, antitumor, antimutagenicity curing
mental and renal disorders. The bioactive components of Melissa offi-
cinalis L. leaf are anthraquinones, dianthrones, stilbenes, anthocyanins,
flavonoids, polyphenols, organic acids, and chromones. Melissa
Officinalis L. is a well-known medicinal plant from the family of la-
miaceae. The plant is high inflavonoid. Flavonoids of lemon balm such
as rosmarinic acid and anthocyanin have an antiviral and antioxidant
effect [17–19]. Thus, the plant can be used as an important source for
bioreduction of metallic ions and production of nanoparticles con-
sidering the potent antioxidants contained in it.

⁎
Corresponding authors at: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Qom, Qom 37185-359, Iran.
E-mail addresses: m.bordbare@gmail.com (M. Bordbar), mahmoudnasr81@gmail.com (M. Nasrollahzadeh).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2017.09.044
Received 9 May 2017; Received in revised form 18 August 2017; Accepted 20 September 2017
Available online 21 September 2017
1383-5866/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
M. Bordbar et al. Separation and Purification Technology 191 (2018) 295–300

We report an environmentally friendly approach for the preparation

of the CuO/ZnO nanocomposite using Melissa Officinalis L. leaf extract
as a reducing and stabilizing agent. Furthermore, the catalytic activity
and recyclability of CuO/ZnO nanocomposite in the reduction of 4-NP
and RhB in aqueous medium at ambient temperature using NaBH4 as
the hydrogen source have been investigated. The catalyst can be easily
recycled following the reaction completion. Melissa Officinalis L., how-
ever, has never been applied in the green synthesis of CuO/ZnO na-
nocomposite despite its natural abundance, non-toxicity and biological
relevance.

2. Experimental

Fig. 1. UV–Vis spectra of the aqueous extract of the leaves of Melissa Officinalis L. (A) and
2.1. Instruments and reagents
biosynthesized CuO NPs using aqueous extract of the leaves of Melissa Officinalis L. be-
tween 5 minand1 month (B).
Reagents were all obtained from Merck and Aldrich Chemical
Companies and used without further purification. A Varian model 640
spectrophotometer was used to record IR (KBr) spectra. A Philips model
X'PertPro diffractometer X-ray diffraction equipped with a graphite
monochromator crystal was used to perform X-ray diffraction (XRD)
measurements. The X-ray wavelength was 1.5405 A° and the diffraction
patterns were recorded in the 2θ range (10–80) with scanning speed of
2°/min. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (Cam scan MV2300) was
used to investigate the morphology and particle dispersion. EDS
(Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy) performed in SEM was used to
measure the chemical composition of the prepared nanostructures. The
chemical analysis of prepared nanostructures was carried out by EDS
(S3700N). A double beam Perkin Elmer Lambda 25 UV–Vis spectro-
photometer was used to record UV–Visible spectral analysis.
Transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to identify the CuO/
ZnO nanocomposite shape and size using aPhilips-EM-2085 transmis-
sion electron microscope with an accelerating voltage of 100.0 kV. Fig. 2. FT-IR spectra of the aqueous extract of the leaves of Melissa Officinalis L. (A), Cu
NPs (B) and CuO NPs (C) synthesized using aqueous extract of the leaves of Melissa
Officinalis L.

2.2. Preparation of Melissa Officinalis L. leaf extract

10 g of Melissa Officinalis L. powdered dried leaves were added to

60 mL of double distillated water in a 250 mL flask and well stirred
using a magnetic heater stirrer at 100 °C for 440 min to obtain the ex-
tract. The extract was then centrifuged at 6000 rpm and filtered. The
filtrate was kept in a refrigerator for further use.
Cu(II) + Cu (I)

2.3. Preparation of the CuO NPs using the aqueous extract of the leaves of
Melissa Officinalis L

30 mL of aqueous extract of the plant was added to 10 mL of 5 mM

CuCl2⋅2H2O solution at 70 °C and vigorously shaken. The mixture be-
came dark after 1 min.; showing the formation of CuO NPs (as mon-
itored by UV and FT-IR techniques). The nanoparticle colloidal dis-
persion was then filtered and centrifuged at 7000 rpm for 30 min. The
obtained precipitate was finally washed with absolute ethanol to re-
move possible impurities and kept in Ar atmosphere to protect it from
deformation and decomposition.
2.4. Preparation of the CuO/ZnO nanocomposite using the aqueous extract
of the leaves of Melissa Officinalis L
CuO/ZnO nanocomposite was prepared by the green method. 1.0 g
of ZnO NPs was mixed with 0.3 g of CuCl2⋅2H2O and 50 mL of the
aqueous plant extract in a 100 mL conical flask and then heated at 75 °C
under vigorous stirring. The solid product was collected by cen-
trifugation approximately 2 h later and then washed several times with
water and ethanol.
350 ºC
CuO NPs Cu NPs +
Scheme 1. Possible mechanism of the reduction of Cu2+ and formation of the CuO NPs.
2.5. RhB catalytic degradation in the presence of the CuO/ZnO
nanocomposite
5.0 mg of the CuO/ZnO nanocomposite were added to an aqueous
solution containing RhB (2.0 × 10−5 M, 25 mL) and freshly prepared
aqueous NaBH4 solution (2.6 × 10−3 M, 25 mL) in a typical experi-
ment and stirred for 1 s at room temperature. The absorption peak
change at the maximum wavelength (λmax = 551 nm) was recorded to
monitor the reduction of RhB. The catalyst was separated from the
reaction mixture by centrifugation following reaction completion, wa-
shed with double distilled water and then dried for the next cycle.

296
M. Bordbar et al.
Fig. 3. XRD pattern of the CuO/ZnO Nanocomposite.
Fig. 4. SEM image of the CuO/ZnO nanocomposite.
2.6. 4-NP catalytic degradation in the presence of the CuO/ZnO
nanocomposite
In a typical experiment, 5.0 mg of catalyst were added to 4-NP
aqueous solution (2.5 × 10−3 M, 25 mL) in a beaker and constantly
stirred for 1 min. 25 mL of freshly prepared aqueous NaBH4
(2.5 × 10−2 M, 25 mL) were then added to the mixture. UV–Vis spec-
troscopy was used to monitor the concentration of 4-NP in the super-
natant at wavelength of 400 nm. The mixture was centrifuged at certain
intervals; 1.0 mL of the solution was extracted and then diluted to
25 mL for further UV–Vis absorption analysis. In the recycling experi-
ment, the catalyst was separated by centrifugation following the
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Separation and Purification Technology 191 (2018) 295–300
Table 1
Atomic and weight ratios of catalyst.
Element Series Norm. C [wt%] Atom. C [at.%]
Carbon K series 31.41 51.49
Oxygen K series 29.88 36.77
Copper K series 9.80 3.03
Zinc K series 28.91 8.71
completion of the reaction, successively washed with deionized water
and dried at 80 °C.
3. Results and discussion
In this work, we report a low-cost, environmentally friendly and
easy method for the preparation of CuO/ZnO nanocomposite using
aqueous extract of Melissa Officinalis L. leaves as a reducing and capping
agent is reported in this work. SEM, EDS, elemental mapping, TEM and
XRD have been used in the characterization of the stable CuO/ZnO
nanocomposite. CuO NPs have been separately synthesized and char-
acterized using FT-IR and UV–Vis for further monitoring. As shown in
the UV–Vis spectrum of the plant extract (Fig. 1A), the fingerprint
signals appearing around 325 nm (bond A) and 275 nm (bond B) belong
to cinnamoyl of the rosmarinic acid and 220 nm (bond C) belong to
benzoyl systems of flavonoid nuclei [18,19] as indicated in Fig. 1A. The
UV spectrum of the plant shows characteristic signals of the transition
localized from the cinnamoyl and benzoyl systems due to the π → π∗
transitions of conjugated double bounds of the flavone nucleus and
matches well with the reported literature [20,21].
FT-IR spectroscopy has been used to monitor the phenolic content of
the plant extract and its effect on NP biosynthesis. The FT-IR spectrum
of the plant aqueous extract shows peaks at 3500–3100, 1720, 1605,
1395 and 1100 cm−1, corresponding to the free OH in molecule and OH
group forming hydrogen bonds, carbonyl group (C]O), stretching
C]C aromatic ring and CeOH and CeH stretching vibrations, respec-
tively (Fig. 2A). The presence of the phenolic structures in the extract is
indicated by all the peaks.
Aqueous extract of the of Melissa Officinalis L. leaves has been used
to synthesize CuO NPs. UV–Vis absorbance behavior of the biosynthe-
sized CuO NPs is shown in Fig. 1B. Maximum absorbance of green
synthesized CuO NPs occurs at 270 nm due to the surface absorption of
nanosized cupric oxide particles, as indicated by our results. UV–Vis
spectra show that the synthetic nanoparticles are approximately stable
with relative variances in the shape, position and symmetry of the ab-
sorption peak after one month, indicating the time dependence and
relative stability of product. Scheme 1 shows the most possible general
mechanism involved in the reduction of Cu2+ and formation of the CuO
Fig. 5. EDS spectrum of the CuO/ZnO nanocomposite.
M. Bordbar et al. Separation and Purification Technology 191 (2018) 295–300

Fig. 6. EDS elemental mapping of the CuO/ZnO nano-

composite, Zn (Green) and Cu (Red). (For interpretation of
the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is
referred to the web version of this article.)

Zn-Ka Cu-Ka

Fig. 7. TEM images of the CuO/ZnO nanocomposite.

Scheme 2. Mechanism of the catalytic reduction and

degradation of 4-NP and RhB dye with CuO/ZnO na-
nocomposite at room temperature.

NPs in the presence of the aqueous extract of Melissa Officinalis L.
leaves.
In addition, FT-IR spectroscopy has been used to monitor the in-
teraction between reactants and of phytochemical sites involved in
order to show the phenolic effects on Cu NP formation. The peaks at
3500–3100, 1720, 1422, 1300 and 1000 cm−1 are associated with the
OH functional groups, carbonyl group (C]O), stretching C]C aromatic
ring and CeOH stretching vibrations, respectively (Fig. 2B). Green
synthesis and adsorption of phenolic groups on the nanosurface, pos-
sibly via interaction of π-electrons in the absence of other strong

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ligating agents is confirmed by the FT-IR spectra of the obtained Cu

NPs. CuO NPs were prepared by calcinations at 350 °C for 2 h. Fur-
thermore, FT-IR spectrum of CuO NPs is shown in Fig. 2C. The peak
appearing at 400–600 cm−1 can be related to the CuO NPs.
Fig. 3 shows the XRD pattern and crystallinity of the CuO/ZnO
nanocomposite synthesized by the green method. XRD peaks at 47.7°
(2 0 0) and 72.9° (2 2 0) correspond to CuO NPs (JPCDS 80-1916). The
other diffraction peaks are also similar to those of pure ZnO and are
associated with the hexagonal phase of ZnO (JPCDS 36-1451).
SEM analysis was used to study the CuO/ZnO nanocomposite sur-
face morphology. Formation of narrow sized spherical CuO NPs is in-
dicated by SEM images (Fig. 4). EDS analysis was used to determine the
elemental composition of the CuO/ZnO nanocomposite (Fig. 5). EDS
spectroscopy confirmed the presence of Cu, Zn and O. The atomic and
Fig. 8. UV–Vis spectra for reduction of 4-NP catalyzed by CuO/ZnO nanocomposite. weight ratios are listed in Table 1. As observed in the FT-IR spectra, the
Conditions: [4-NP] = 2.5 mM; [NaBH4] = 0.25 M; catalyst = 5.0 mg. green synthesis and absorption of phenolics on the nanosurface, pos-
sibly via the interaction of π-electrons in the absence of other strong
Table 2
ligating agents, is confirmed by presence of carbon peak. Further, the
Effect of various catalysts for reduction of 4-NP; Conditions: [4-NP] = 2.5 mM; presence of Cu was approved using the elemental mapping images
[NaBH4] = 0.25 M; catalyst = 5.0 mg. (Fig. 6).
The morphology of the CuO/ZnO nanocomposite was studied by
Time (min)
TEM analysis. Spherical, narrow sized (nearly 10–20 nm) CuO NPs are
Catalyst RhB 4-NP attached to ZnO NPs, as Fig. 7 clearly shows.
CuO/ZnO nanocomposite catalytic activity was studied in the re-
CuO/ZnO 1 3 duction of aqueous solutions of 4-NP and RhB dye in the presence of
CuO 10 22
NaBH4 at ambient temperature (Scheme 2). UV–Visible spectroscopy,
ZnO 30a 30a
carried out at regular time intervals, was used to monitor the reaction
a
Not completed. progress.
4-NP has a maximum absorption at 317 nm in aqueous medium
(Fig. 8). In the absence of catalyst, the peak at 317 nm remains un-
3 changed even after a couple of days. In order to evaluate the CuO/ZnO
nanocomposite catalytic activity, 25.0 mL of 4-NP (2.5 mM) were
2.5
mixed with a freshly prepared aqueous solution of 25.0 mL of NaBH4
2 (0.25 M) at ambient temperature. 5.0 mg of CuO/ZnO nanocomposite
0 min
were then mixed with the above reaction mixture. Upon addition of
Absorbance

1.5 NaBH4 to 4-NP solution, the light yellow color changed to intense
yellow, indicating an absorption peak at about 400 nm due to the for-
1 1 min mation of 4-nitrophenolate ions in alkaline conditions caused by the
addition of NaBH4, which does not change with time. When CuO/ZnO
0.5
nanocomposite is added to the reaction system, the peak at 400 nm
0 decreases and a new peak appears at about 300 nm, corresponding to 4-
200 300 400 500 600 aminophenol (4-AP), as shown in Fig. 8. The whole peak at 400 nm
disappears after about 180 s and the yellow color of the solution
Wavelength (nm)
changes to white, showing the conversion of 4-NP 4 to 4-AP.
Fig. 9. UV–Visible spectra for catalytic degradation of RhB at several interval, conditions: Reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP using NaBH4 was investigated to study
[RhB] = 2 × 10−5 M, [NaBH4] = 2.6 × 10−3 M, Cu/ZnO nanocomposite = 5.0 mg.
the catalytic activity of various catalysts including ZnO NPs (Table 2).
ZnO NPs do not function as catalysts in this reaction, as shown by the

Table 3
Comparison of results for the degradation of 4-NP and RhB by NaBH4 in the presence of various catalysts.

Substrate Catalyst Reaction conditions Time Ref.

4-NP Cu Microspheres, (0.5 mL, 1000 mg/L) 4-NP (30 mL, 0.2 mM), NaBH4 (10.0 mL, 25.0 mM,), r.t. 18 min [22]
Cu NPs (12.5 mg) 4-NP (25 mL, 0.12 mM), NaBH4 (25.0 mL, 20.0 mM,), r.t. 50 min [23]
Cu NPs (0.1 mmol) 4-NP (1.0 mmol), NaBH4 (3.0 mmol), THF/H2O (1:2) (20 mL), 50 °C 60 min [24]
Resin-Au NPs (100 mg) 4-NP (0.5 mmol), NaBH4 (5.0 mmol), MeOH/H2O (1:1) (20 mL), 40 °C 20 min [11]
Ni NPs (3 mg) 4-NP (3 mL, 0.1 mM), NaBH4 (0.3 mL, 0.2 M), 20 °C 10 min [12]
Cu3Ni2 nanocrystals (4.0 mg) 4-NP (1 × 10−4 M), NaBH4 (0.02 M), r.t. 6 min [25]
FeNi2 alloy nanostructure (1.0 mL, 100 mg/L) 4-NP (1.0 mL, 1 × 10−4 M), NaBH4 (1.0 mL, 6 × 10−2 M), 20 °C 60 min [26]
CuO/ZnO (5.0 mg) 4-NP (25.0 mL, 2.5 mM), NaBH4 (25.0 mL, 0.25 M), r.t. 3 min This work

RhB Cu/Fe3O4 NPs (10.0 mg) RhB (25.0 mL, 2.09 × 10−5 M), NaBH4 (25.0 mL, 5.3 × 10−3 M), r.t. 450 s [4]
SiNWAs-Cu NPs (1 × 1 cm2) RhB (25.0 mL, 5 × 10−5 M), NaBH4 (0.01 g), r.t. 14 min [27]
Fe3O4@PANI@Au, [Au]0 = 2.5 × 10−5 M RhB (2.0 × 10−5 M), NaBH4 (1.0 × 10−2 M), r.t. 18 min [28]
12.5Cu@SBA-15 (9.0 × 10−2 g/L) RhB (1.0 × 10−5 M), NaBH4 (0.025 M), r.t. 5 min [29]
Cu/eggshell nanocomposite (10.0 mg) RhB (25.0 mL, 2.09 × 10−5 M), NaBH4 (25.0 mL, 5.3 × 10−3 M), r.t. 90 s [16]
Fe3O4/Ag (20.0 mg) RhB (25.0 mL, 5.0 mg/L), NaBH4 (2.0 mL, 0.05 M), r.t. 15 min [13]
CuO/ZnO (5.0 mg) RhB (25.0 mL, 2.0 × 10−5 M), NaBH4 (25.0 mL, 2.6 × 10−3 M) 1 min This work

299
M. Bordbar et al.
results. The results also show that pure CuO NPs can catalyze 4-NP
reduction to 4-AP, but with at slower reaction rates compared with
CuO/ZnO nanocomposite. Complete reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP by
NaBH4 using pure CuO NPs takes 22 min longer, as shown in Table 2.
CuO/ZnO nanocomposite showed the best catalytic performance of
all catalysts investigated (Table 2). Therefore, CuO/ZnO nanocomposite
has a higher catalytic activity in 4-NP reduction to 4-AP than CuO NPs,
which may be attributed to the active part of ZnO support in the cat-
alysis, leading to a synergistic effect. The evidences for synergistically
enhanced catalytic activity are: (1) CuO NPs show a high catalytic ac-
tivity; (2) ZnO NPs provide a high surface area and a relatively high
concentration of reactant molecules closer to the CuO NPs on ZnO,
leading to highly efficient contact between the reacting species. CuO
NPs can transfer electrons from BH4− to 4-NP, which are both absorbed
on the catalyst, leading to the production of 4-AP when CuO/ZnO na-
nocomposite is used in 4-NP catalytic reduction. BH4− can donate
electrons to CuO NPs as a nucleophile. In addition, 4-NP can capture
electrons from the CuO NPs as an electrophile. Eventually, 4-AP desorbs
from the supports to create a free surface and the catalytic cycle starts
again.
In the next step, reduction of RhB dye in the presence of NaBH4 at
ambient temperature using CuO/ZnO nanocomposite via electron
transfer of BH4− ions was also investigated. Time dependent UV–Vis
absorption spectra of the mixture were used to monitor the reaction.
Absorption peaks at 554 nm, which immediately disappear after 60 s,
show rapid degradation (Fig. 9).
CuO/ZnO nanocomposite show distinctly higher catalytic activity in
comparison with the CuO NPs prepared by Melissa Officinalis L. leaf
extract (Table 2). The reason for this may be the effect of increased
surface area, smaller size and the good dispersion of the CuO NPs on
ZnO. The aggregation of CuO NPs is prevented by ZnO support. In
addition, the synergistic effect of ZnO support is important in the re-
duction process.
Table 3 shows the comparison of the reduction of 4-NP and RhB dye
using Cu/ZnO nanocomposite and catalysts reported in the literature.
Reduction reaction takes the shortest time was using CuO/ZnO nano-
composite based on the results in Table 3.
Nanocatalyst separation and recovery, carried out by centrifugation,
is very important with respect to the application of a nanocatalyst as a
practical catalyst. The recyclability of the CuO/ZnO nanocomposite
catalyst in the reduction of 4-NP and RhB has been studied. The catalyst
was separated by centrifugation at the end of the reaction, washed three
times with double distilled water and dried in an oven at 100 °C for 2 h.
The recycled CuO/ZnO nanocomposite catalyst can well be reused in
both reactions. CuO/ZnO nanocomposite catalytic activity in the re-
duction of 4-NP or RhB does not change after 5 cycles. The reaction
time for 100% reduction of 4-NP or RhB was approximately constant up
to the 5th cycle.
4. Conclusions
A mild and efficient procedure has been developed for the
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Separation and Purification Technology 191 (2018) 295–300
preparation of CuO/ZnO nanocomposite using aqueous extract of
Melissa Officinalis L. leaves as a reducing and stabilizing agent in the
absence of any harmful reducing or surfactant template.
Environmentally benign plant starting materials provide enormous
benefits such as environmentally friendliness and compatibility with
biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. FT-IR spectroscopy has
confirmed that flavonoid and other phenolic constituents of the extract
are responsible for the reduction of the CuCl2 and function as capping
ligands to the surfaces of the CuO NPs. NPs synthesized by this method
are quite stable for as long as a month. Strong catalytic activity is shown
by CuO/ZnO nanocomposite in 4-NP and RhB degradation at ambient
temperature. The catalyst was recovered and reused several times with
no loss in the catalytic activity.
Acknowledgements
The author is thankful to Iran National Science Foundation (INSF)
for supporting this project numbered 95823609.
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