Synthesis of nanoparticles based on plant extract as reduction agent has been discovered extensively due to its environmental friendly approach. In this work, a facile silver nanoparticles is synthesized via incorporation of silver nitrate aqueous solution with Parkia speciosa leaves extract. Centrifugation is introduces to improve the characteristics of nanoparticles. Chemical interactions have identified –OH stretching vibration, C=O and C=C, proving the presence of phenolic, terpenoid and flavonoid capped on silver nanoparticles. The TEM result demonstrates the silver nanoparticles had consistence spherical nanoparticles shape with average particles size (59.96 nm) in accordance with FESEM analysis. The structural analysis by XRD shows the nanoparticles had high degree of crystallinity (97%) and crystallite size (17.95 nm). The optical analysis by UV‐Vis reveals that the nanoparticle produces brown colour solution with high absorption band (465 nm). This proves that Parkia speciosa extract has potential as reduction agent in synthesis of silver nanoparticles.

The use of kaolin as a source of silica and alumina for synthesis of zeolite has been widely reported with various compositions and processing routes. However, since kaolin is highly influenced by geological origin and geographical formation, coupled with the processing method, two different crude kaolin were obtained at various locations in Peninsular Malaysia to serve as precursor for synthesis of zeolite. Hydrothermal treatments were made at reasonable low temperature of 90°C in an oven. The synthesized product was then analyzed using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, to evaluate the potentials of the process and the product. The outcome of the analysis suggested that the breaking down of the clay structure and the armophization process can improve raw material reactivity. However, the crystallinity and composition of the crude kaolin together with appropriate incubation time can greatly influence the synthesis process and the product.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of eugenol and zinc oxide on antibacterial properties of polysulfone membrane. Polysulfone membranes were prepared by a simple phase inversion technique with N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as solvent and polyethylene glycol as pore forming agent with zinc oxide and eugenol as additives. Membrane structure were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM) to observe the effect of both additives towards the formation of dense top layer and porous bottom layer of membrane. Disc diffusion test was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial performance against Escherichia coli (E.coli). SEM result showed the formation of thin top and bottom layers with more porous structure for hydrophilic zinc oxide particle, while dense top and bottom layers with slightly smaller porous network for eugenol addition. However, accumulations of particles were found for membrane with zinc oxide at higher concentration. The synergistic effect of combination zinc oxide and eugenol on antibacterial activity against E coli was found in this study. Besides that, the inhibition ring of membrane was improved 200% when both zinc oxide and eugenol were added in polysulfone membrane, Based on the findings, we can conclude that membrane with a combination of zinc oxide and eugenol has a huge potential membrane for bacterial removal.

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