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Second International Conference on Physics of Materials and Nanotechnology IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1221 (2022) 012010 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1221/1/012010

The green and chemical synthesis, and characterization of

ZnO nanoparticles by aqueous leaf extract of aloe vera

K M Kavya Prakash*,T Vinodkumar and V Prakash

Department of PG Studies & Research in Physics, Payyanur College, Edat,Kannur,

Kerala-670327, India

*Email: kavyaprakashkm2018@gmail.com

Abstract.The exact physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles depend on the way in
which they are synthesized. The common techniques are hypothermal methods,
electrochemical deposition, sol-gel method, chemical vapour deposition, co-precipitation
method etc. In the present study, zinc oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized by botanical
extract and chemical reducing agents with major objective to compare the nature and average
particle size of the nanoparticles synthesized by these two methods. An attempt is also made to
understand the influence of molarity on the chemically synthesized NPs by varying the molar
concentration of precursor. The structure and morphology of synthesized NPs have been
studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. For chemically synthesized NPs the major
peak was observed at 36.147 for both the precursor at 0.2M and 0.3M. The average crystalline
size was found to be 13.09 nm and 11.09 nm for precursor at 0.2M and 0.3M respectively. The
major peak for green method was observed at 36.147 with an average crystalline size of 9.2
nm. The study clearly indicates that, green method is particularly suitable for the synthesis of
smaller sized NPs.In chemical method, the molarity of the precursor influences the particle
size, as the molarity decreases particle size also decreases.

1. Introduction
Nanotechnology deals with the study of particles having dimension from 1 nm to 1000 nm. Physical,
chemical and biological methods are the commonly used methods for synthesizing nanoparticles [1].
The physical methods are sometimes inappropriate because they require large amount of energy, time
and space. The chemical methods are considered as an unfriendly approach as they use toxic and
harmful substances [2]. The green methods are generally cheap and safe for the synthesis of
nanoparticles. Biodegradable raw materials such as plant parts, microbes, fruit peels and vegetables
are used for green synthesis [3,4].The NPs so synthesized find their applications in various fields such
as electrochemistry, catalysis, sensors, biomedicines, food packaging, health care, cosmetics, optical
devices etc [5].Preparations of inorganic nanocrystalline metal oxides have wide interest due to the
extremely large surface area and wide biological applications.

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Second International Conference on Physics of Materials and Nanotechnology IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1221 (2022) 012010 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1221/1/012010

Zinc oxide NPs are type of metal oxide nanoparticles having band gap 3.3 eV and high binding
energy (60MeV), and considered to be a very hardest material [2]. The zinc oxide nanoparticles are
non-toxic, nearly insoluble in water, show high degree of cancer cell selectivity and appear as
white powder [6]. Due to their excellent biocompatibility, synthesis of ZnO NPs became focused
area of many research works nowadays [7]. The efficiency and applications of ZnO NPs depend on
size, shape, surface state, crystal structure and the way of synthesis [7]. The ZnO NPs are
commonly used in sunscreens as it reflects the ultraviolet light and also being used to kill harmful
microorganisms in packaging. The ZnO NPs have good photocatalytic properties in the UV-
Visible region [8]. Many enzymes and ointments also use zinc NPs as an essential ingredient.

There are several methods used for the preparation of zinc oxide nanoparticles viz. sol-gel
technique, chemical precipitation method, thermal method and green route method. In the present
study, the biosynthesis of ZnO NPs from leaf extract of aloe brabadens is miller commonly known
as aloe vera belongs to asphodelaceae (liliaceae) family and mostly found in subcontinent of India,
dry regions of Africa, Asia, Europe and America was preferred. The gel part of aloe vera leafs are
widely used in the preparation of traditional medicines and showed antifungal and skin healing
properties [9]. The leaf extracts of aloe vera is rich in vitamins, enzymes, minerals and aminoacids
[10]. The ZnO NPs were also synthesized by chemical precipitation method for comparison and to
understand the efficacy.

2. Materials and methods

Aloe vera leaves were collected locally from the study area and commercially available zinc acetate
was used as a precursor. The characterization was done using XRD technique and average particle
size calculation by debye-scherrer formula.

The aloe vera is a widely used medicinal plant commonly seen in hot and semi-tropical climates.It
is a juicy plant of the genus aloeand originated from Arabian Peninsula. It contains healthy
compounds which are used for various medicinal purposes. It is also known as a multifunctional
plant as all parts of the plant can be used for various applications.

2.1. Synthesis
2.1.1. Preparation of aloe vera leaf extract.Fresh leaves of aloe vera were collected and washed
thoroughly with running water and then air dried. The leaf extract was prepared by the gel part of aloe
vera. About50 gm of aloe vera was boiled in 50 ml of deionized water for half an hour. The resulting
extract was taken for further analysis.
2.1.2. Biosynthesis of ZnO NPs. In biosynthesis, 0.2 M zinc acetate (precursor) was prepared in 50 ml
of deionized water. Aloe vera leaf extract (10 ml)was added drop wise under constant stirring using a
magnetic stirrer for 10 minutes. In order to adjust the pH of the prepared solution, NaOH (2M) was
added drop wise while stirring. The obtained white crystalline precipitate was washed well with
distilled water, filtered and dried in an oven at 60oC. The process ultimately ends with the formation of
a white smooth powder.
2.1.3. Chemical synthesis of ZnO NPs. In chemical method, commercially available zinc acetate with
different molarity (0.3M and 0.2M) was used as precursor and sodium hydroxide as reducing agent.

2.2. Sample preparation

The direct precipitation method was adopted for the chemical production of zinc oxide nanoparticles.
Solution of zinc acetate (0.2 M) and sodium hydroxide (0.4 M) were prepared with 100 ml of
deionized water. The NaOH solution was slowly added into freshly prepared zinc acetatesolution at
room temperature under vigorous stirring. The stirring results a white suspension which indicates the
formation of zinc oxide nanoparticles. The white suspension was collected using centrifugation (20

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Second International Conference on Physics of Materials and Nanotechnology IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1221 (2022) 012010 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1221/1/012010

minutes) and washed three times with distilled water, then dried in oven at 150oC for 2 hours. The
same process was repeated by changing the molarity of precursor to 0.3 M.

2.3. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs)

Zinc oxide is a white solid which is insoluble in water. It is considered to be a hazard chemical which
is dangerous to the environment also [6]. The inhalation of zinc oxide nanoparticles results in fever,
nausea, muscle pain and vomiting. Table 1gives the general properties of zinc oxide nanoparticles.

Table 1. Properties of ZnO[3].

Item Property
Chemical structure ZnO
Molecular weight 81.389 gmol-1
Appearance White solid
Odour Odourless
Crystal structure Wurtizite
Band gap energy 3.37 eV
Density 5.606 gcm-3

3. Structural and optical characterization

The X-ray diffraction is used to determine crystallographic structure and morphology of nanoparticles.
The X-ray powder diffraction method is also used for identification of phase and can provide
information about cell dimensions. Average particle size can be calculated using debyesherrer’s
formula.
Kλ
D = βcos θ (1)

Where, D is average particle size, λ is wave length of the radiation, β is full width at half maximum
(FWHM) of the reflection peak and K is Scherrer constant.

The scherrer constant K used in the formula changes with the shape of the particle and commonly
used value is 0.9. The most common wave length of X-ray is 1.54Å . The XRD operates at 40kV
voltage and 30mA current.

4. Results and discussion

The XRD pattern of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized using both chemical and green methods are
given below. Figure 1 below shows the XRD pattern of zinc oxide nanoparticle prepared by chemical
precipitation method at 0.3 M of zinc acetate as a precursor. The major peaks observed at 31.77,
34.13, 36.08, 47.61 and 56.68. The diffraction pattern and interplanar spacing closely matched with
the JCPDS value of ZnO NPs in the standard diffraction pattern. The average particle size
calculatedwas found to be 13.09 nm with 1.11405 FWHM.

3
Second International Conference on Physics of Materials and Nanotechnology IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1221 (2022) 012010 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1221/1/012010

Figure 1.The XRD pattern of ZnO at 0.3 M zinc Figure 2. The XRD pattern of ZnO at 0.2 M zinc
acetate. acetate.
Figure 2 above shows the XRD pattern of zinc oxide nanoparticleprepared by chemical
precipitation method at 0.2 M of zinc acetateas a precursor. The major peaks observed at 31.87,
34.3, 36.04, 47.48 and 56.41. The diffraction pattern data obtained were compared with original
JCPDS data and found good matching. This confirms the synthesized nanoparticlesare ZnO. The
average particle size obtained was 11.95 nm.

Figure 3 below show the XRD pattern of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized using green method.
The major peaks observed at 31.63, 34.27, 36.14, 47.48 and 56.53. Confirmation was done using
JCPDS value of ZnO NPs. The average particle size was found to be 9.2 nm.

Figure 3.The XRD pattern of ZnO by green method.

4.1. Factors influence the synthesis

There are many factors that influence the synthesis, characterization and application of nanoparticles
viz. pH of the solution, temperature of the reaction medium, time, pressure, concentration of the
extract solution etc. The green synthesis of nanoparticles uses nontoxic and ecofriendly raw materials
and hence got wide acceptance among many other methods. The size of the nanoparticles synthesized
depends on the solution pH, however pH has less effect in physical and chemical synthesis. The green
synthesis requiresa temperature less than 100oConly. The exact nature of the synthesized nanoparticles
depends on the temperature of the reaction medium.

5. Conclusion
In the present work, it is introduced a cost-effective and ecofriendly method for the synthesize of zinc
oxide nanoparticles from aloe vera plant extract. The green synthesis method was effectively
implemented to synthesis ZnO nanoparticles. The study clearly indicates that, green method is

4
Second International Conference on Physics of Materials and Nanotechnology IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1221 (2022) 012010 doi:10.1088/1757-899X/1221/1/012010

particularly suitable for the synthesis of smaller sized NPs. In chemical method, the molarity of the
precursor influences the particle size, as the molarity decreases particle size also decreases. The
particles synthesized can be used as photocatalysts and the biologically synthesized nanoparticles are
expected to be used in bio medical fields.

Acknowledgements
The first author is grateful to the Head of the Department of Physics, PRNSS College for providing the
lab facility.
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