Abstract
Biosynthesis of nanoparticles is ecofriendly, cost effective and safer than the physical and chemical methods of fabrication of nanoparticles.
Phoenix dactylifera
(Date palm) was used for the fabrication of Cobalt (II) oxide nanoparticles. The produced cobalt oxide nanoparticles were characterized using UV visible absorption spectroscopy, FTIR, XRD, Scanning Electron Microscopy, particle size and zeta potential measurements. The UV visible absorption spectrum of the produced cobalt (II) oxide nanoparticles revealed a peak at 530 nm. SEM image showed the agglomeration of particles, which were spherical with the mean size of ~ 80 nm. The produced cobalt (II) oxide nanoparticles showed a zeta potential value of − 30.8 mV. The antimicrobial property of different concentrations of the produced cobalt oxide nanoparticles was examined. The results showed the cobalt (II) oxide nanoparticles having a good antibacterial activity against both gram-positive (
Bacillus subtilis
and
Staphylococcus aureus
) and gram-negative bacteria (
Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli
). The fabricated cobalt oxide nanoparticles also showed better antifungal activity against
Aspergillus niger
. Photocatalytic activity of the synthesized cobalt oxide nanoparticle was determined by the decreasing concentration of Congo red dye and the results showed better degradation of 92.45% after 70 min under solar radiation. Thus, the present study has revealed that the cobalt oxide nanoparticles can be synthesized using
P. dactylifera
seed extract in a cost effective and ecofriendly manner and can be used for photocatalytic and antimicrobial applications.