A facile green recipe was developed to synthesise highly pure, safe and durable zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO Nps) using homemade starch-rich potato extract. The ZnO Nps were synthesised using zinc nitrate and potato extract, and the whole reaction is carried out for 30 min at 80 C. In the synthesis, starch-rich potato extract acted as the reducing agent and as a stabilising layer on freshly formed ZnO Nps. Hexagonal (wurtzite) shaped ZnO Nps with size about 20 § 1.2 nm were synthesised and characterised using X-ray diffraction, transition electron microscope and scanning microscopy analyses. Fourier transform infrared spectral analysis indicated that highly pure ZnO nanopowders were obtained at higher temperatures. The use of environmentally benign and renewable material as the respective reducing and protecting agents, starch-rich potato extract, as well as a gentle solvent medium (H 2 O), offered a simple and quite efficient procedure for the synthesis of ZnO Nps in neutral medium with promising potential for biological and biomedical applications.

In this study, ZnO/HAP nanocomposite with excellent photocatalytic activities was successfully synthesized by sol-gel method and used for degradation of 2-mercaptobenzoxazole (MBO) as model of odorous mercaptan compound in water. To optimize the performance of ZnO/ HAP photocatalytic capabilities, ZnO/HAP loading (0.05-0.3 g/L), irradiation time (15-180 min), pH (3-11) and initial concentration of MBO (10-100 ppm) were investigated. At neutral pH of 7, the highest amount of the MBO (99.45 %) was degraded by ZnO/HAP nanocomposite through photocatalytic oxidation process within 2 h of irradiation time. ). TEM image demonstrated a spherical shape structure of ZnO/HAP with average particle size of 25 nm in diameter. The XRD patterns revealed the principal components of ZnO/HAP including HAP and ZnO. FTIR spectrum results supported formation ZnO and HAP by their stretching mode in composite. Comparison of photocatalytic activity of ZnO/HAP with pure ZnO and HAP nanoparticles had clearly recognized that latter is the most active photocatalyst in the degradation of MBO using UV light as source energy. The reason for greater activity of ZnO/HAP was due to its larger specific surface area (182.36 m

Background and Aim: Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs), and potential EDCs are mostly man-made, found in various materials such as pesticides, metals, additives or contaminants in food, and personal care products. Phthalates are a group of these compounds that are carcinogenic to animals and can cause fetal death and congenital anomalies. The aim of this study was to investigate the photocatalytic process using GO/ZnO nanocomposites under LED irradiation for removal of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) from aqueous solutions. Materials and Methods: In this study, GO/ZnO nanorods were characterized by, Field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis. A Central Composite Design was used to optimize the reaction parameters for the removal of DEP by GO/ZnO. The four main reaction parameters optimized in this study were the following: the LED radiation time, pH, and the initial concentration of phthalates and the concentration of ZnO and graphene-oxide. The interaction between the four parameters was studied and modeled using the Design Expert 10 software. Phthalate detected by HPLC apparatus equipped with a UV detector at 225 nm wavelength with methanol (90%) and Acetonitrile (10%) phases. Results:The results of FE-SEM and TEM showed that the ZnO is composed of a bar and separate face. Based on the peak obtained, the diameter and length of the nanorods are 20-60 and 200 nm respectively. A maximum reduction of 90% of DEP was achieved at pH 5 and 120 minutes. The results represent the prediction of a model fitted from the Quadratic model (p-value<00001). Conclusion:The interaction of variables showed that the maximum effect was belonged to the pH and the time in the process reactions. Also, the results showed that the GO/ZnO low power LED irradiation can be used as an effective method for the removal of EDCs from environmental.