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In this work, ZnO photocatalyst has been synthesized using matoa (Pometia pinnata) leaf extract under various microwave irradiation powers at 360, 540, and 720 Watts for 3 minutes on each. The UV-Vis absorption spectra of ZnO exhibited a peak in the ultraviolet region 300-360 nm. UV-Vis absorption analysis revealed a decrease in the band gap energy from 3.15 eV to 3.10 eV as the irradiation power increased. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images displayed spherical and nanoplatelet morphology with a decrease in particle size observed from 773 to 709 nm with increasing irradiation power. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO with crystallite sizes in the range of ~18-20 nm. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles was successfully employed as a photocatalyst in 4-nitrophenol degradation, achieving the highest degradation percentage of 82.7% at 540 Watts with a corresponding reaction rate constant of 0.0126/min. In conclusion, the microwave-assisted synthesis of ZnO using on matoa leaf extract demonstrated significant potential for the degradation of organic pollutants, thereby contributing to water purification efforts.

In this paper, the flower-shaped ZnO particles have been prepared via microwave-assisted biosynthesis technique using an aqueous extract of Sandoricum koetjape peel at various irradiation powers, i.e. 180, 360, 540, and 720 Watt. The synthesized flower-shaped ZnO particles were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The UV-vis spectra exhibited ZnO absorption peaks in the UV region with band gap energy in the range of 3.25 - 3.29 eV. XRD analysis confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite crystal with the high purity of ZnO particles. The flower-shaped morphology of ZnO was evident in FESEM images with the decrease of particle diameter as the radiation power increased from 257 to 447 nm. ZnO prepared at 720 Watt (Z-720) succeeded in degrading 4-nitrophenol with the highest efficiency of 84.8 % after 240 min. Consequently, biosynthesis ZnO will have a great opportunity to be applied in degrading wastewater pollutants.

This study aims to investigate the physical characteristics and photocatalyst activity of biosynthesized ZnO with pineapple (Ananas comosus) peel extract under microwave irradiation. The ZnO powder was prepared in two different concentrations of zinc nitrate hexahydrate (ZNH) at 200mM (Z-200) and 500 mM (Z-500). The optical, structural, and morphological properties of ZnO were analyzed using UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), respectively. The UV-Vis absorption spectrum showed a wide absorbance peak of ZnO at the wavelength of 300-360 nm with a bandgap energy of 3.22 and 3.25 eV. The XRD result confirmed the wurtzite structure of ZnO with high crystallinity. SEM morphology showed spherical particles with an average particle size of 190-220 nm. For photocatalytic application, ZnO film was fabricated via the doctor blade method from microwave-assisted biosynthesized ZnO powder. ZnO films were then applied under UV-irradiation to examine the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue. It was found that the catalytic behavior of ZnO film was affected by the starting ZNH concentration with maximum effectiveness of 46% degradation after 2 h.