Green Synthesis of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles for Tetracycline Adsorption: Experimental Insights and DFT Study
Solhe F. Alshahateet, Salah A. Al‐Trawneh, Mohammed Er-rajy, Mohammed Zerrouk, Khalil Azzaoui, W. M. Al-Tawarh, B. Hammouti, R. Salghi, Rachid Sabbahi, Mohammed M. Alanazi, Larbi Rhazi
Abstract
L., leaf extract. The produced ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by XRD and SEM analysis. The ZnO NPs showed remarkable adsorption efficiency for tetracycline (TC) from water systems, with a maximum removal rate of 95% under optimal conditions (10 ppm, 0.10 g of ZnO NPs, pH 8.5, and 30 min at 25 °C). The adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-2nd-order model, and the adsorption process fitted the Temkin isotherm model. The process was spontaneous, endothermic, and primarily chemisorptive. Quantum chemistry calculations, utilizing electrostatic potential maps and HOMO-LUMO gap analysis, have confirmed the stability of the TC clusters. This study suggests that green synthesis using plant extracts presents an opportunity to generate nanoparticles with properties suitable for real-world applications.