Synthesis and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles from Solanum nigrum and Eclipta prostrata for Effective Removal of Fluoride

The present study reports the novel approach to remove the excess fluoride in water using nano sized zinc oxide (ZnO) particles extracted from the plant leaf Solanum nigrum and Eclipta prostrate. The thermal behavior of the fabricated ZnO particles were characterized by XRD, the porosity and microstructure were studied by the SEM. The measurement of FTIR was carried out to find the probable biomolecules in both plant leaves. These leaves contain high amount of proteins, amino acids and rich in polyphenols. The batch experiment was carried out to study the removal of Fluoride under several factors like the effects of initial concentration, adsorbent dosage and various time intervals. It is revealed at optimum dosage of Eclipta and Solanum is 0.8g/100ml and the capacity of adsorption was creating to be 1.984mg/g and 1.943 mg/g and its efficiency is 98% and 55% respectively. Thus, the optimum dosage of the adsorbents can be used to lowering the fluoride concentration. The synthesized ZnO Nanoparticles in this work are highly capable material for removal of Fluoride ion. Thus, it is proven that the leaf of Solanum nigrum and Eclipta prostrata produce higher efficiency in reduction of Fluoride.