Degradation of Methylene Blue Dye and Rifampicin Antibiotic Using Parthenium hysterophorus- Mediated Green Zinc Oxide and Copper Oxide Nanoparticles

Abstract

Contamination of water with antibiotics and organic dyes is causing a serious threat to human health and ecosystems. Wastewater treatment technologies such as membrane filtration, advanced oxidation processes, and resin ion exchange have been in use over time; however, they are associated with limited removal capacity of pollutants and are reported to be cost-intensive. Recently, decontamination with green metallic nanoparticles has been found to be promising. This study aimed to synthesize green copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) from Parthenium hysterophorus aqueous extract and determine their degradation ability against the rifampicin antibiotic and the methylene blue (MB) dye. The formation of green CuO NPs and ZnO NPs was confirmed by several characterization techniques: UV-Vis spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Powder X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). The percentage degradation of rifampicin antibiotic and MB dye using green CuO NPs and ZnO NPs was affected by the nanoparticle amount, rifampicin and MB concentration, pH, reaction time, and temperature. The highest percentage degradation (˃99%) was obtained for the rifampicin antibiotic using 10 mg/L of rifampicin solution and 50 mg of green CuO NPs within 210 minutes. In contrast, the highest percentage of degradation (˃58%) was obtained for MB dye using 5 mg/L of MB solution and 10 mg of green ZnO NPs within 360 minutes. The percentage degradation was determined to increase when the parameters were combined at their optimal conditions, with over 99% degradation of rifampicin and 59% degradation of MB reported within 8 and 32 minutes, respectively. Additionally, green CuO NPs and ZnO NPs were demonstrated to retain their degradation ability even after multiple cycles of use. According to the study’s findings, P. hysterophorus-mediated green CuO NPs and ZnO NPs exhibited degradation properties that enabled them to break down the studied pollutants, indicating potential use in the decontamination of other aquatic pollutants.