Luminescence and structural properties of ZnO nanoparticles.

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With the progression of nanotechnology, the use of nanoparticles in consumer products has increased dramatically. Because of their broad scale use, these nanomaterials can be expected to be present in the environment, raising concerns about their effects on the lives of plants and animals. Zinc oxide (ZnO), a nanomaterial, has specific surface area, high pore volume, low toxicity and long life‐span and thus is being used as promising material for cosmetics, antibacterial, chemical absorbents, polymer additives and catalysts. In this study ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized using various techniques like X‐ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron microscopy (TEM) and Ultra violet (UV) visible spectroscopy. Further, the effect of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) was tested on wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown in hydroponics media. It was observed that ZnO NPs, at 50 mg/L have positive effect on seed germination, number of roots, plant biomass and overall growth of roots, shoots and leaves. These findings could be further applied to the agricultural fields to enhance the crop production.

An attempt was taken to synthesize two types of polyaniline (PANI) with and without solvent followed by drying in air and vacuum oven conditions resulting different morphologies. The PANIs were prepared by chemical oxidative polymerization and studied with respect to their morphological features. Scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy techniques were used for the characterization studies. The PANI synthesized with a solvent had a mixed morphology (fibrillar and granular), whereas PANI synthesized without a solvent had only a granular morphology. The direct-current electrical conductivities of the samples were evaluated with an electrometer. We observed that the PANIs with mixed morphology (with solvent) were more electrically conducting than those with a single morphology (without solvent). On drying in vacuo, the conductivity of PANI decreased from 3.3 3 10 22 to 0.3 3 10 22 S/cm with solvent treatment, whereas it decreased from 0.1 3 10 22 to 0.3 3 10 23 S/cm without solvent treatment. V C 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44091.