Green production of zinc oxide nanorods for efficient removal of textile dyes

Abstract

This study shows the effect of Zinc oxide nanorods, synthesized using Moringa oleifera phytochemicals as reducing and stabilizing agents were synthesized via a green method and systematically characterized to establish a consistent dataset linking structure, properties, and photocatalytic activity. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy confirmed the presence of only Zn and O elements, while scanning electron microscopy showed uniformly dispersed rod-like morphologies with particle sizes in the range of 10–25 nm. Powder X-ray diffraction confirmed a crystalline hexagonal wurtzite phase with an average crystallite size of 7.56 nm. The photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO nanorods was estimated using methylene blue, Congo red, and rhodamine B dyes as model pollutants, in addition to real textile wastewater samples. The treated wastes showed improved dissolved oxygen from 0.4 to 2.13 mg/L and lowered BOD from 930 to 30 mg/L. These data show the reproducibility and efficiency of green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles using M. oleifera for wastewater purification.