Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Dr Jie ZhangORCiD
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2026 by the authors.The efficient removal of toxic dyes from wastewater remains a major environmental challenge. In this study, we report a green and facile one-pot synthesis of zinc oxide nanowires (ZnO-NWs) using lemon verbena leaf extract as a sustainable capping and stabilizing agent. The extract played a vital role in directing the 1D growth of the wurtzite hexagonal structure. Characterization confirmed a band gap of 3.12 eV and the characteristic Zn-O stretching at 375 cm−1. Photocatalytic activity tests using 20 mg of biosynthesized ZnO-NWs demonstrated excellent degradation performance. A rate constant of 0.0067 min−1 was achieved, with 99.95% degradation of Basic Fuchsin under natural sunlight for 3 h. Active species analysis highlighted the crucial roles of holes (h+), superoxide radicals (O2•−), and hydroxyl radicals (•OH). Notably, the addition of 10 mM H2O2 produced a powerful synergistic effect, reducing the degradation time from 3 h to only 7 min and increasing the reaction rate by approximately 25-fold. These findings highlight the potential of biosynthesized ZnO-NWs as highly efficient, rapid, and sustainable photocatalysts for environmental remediation.
Author(s): Hazmoune A, Boukaous C, Iaiche S, Benhaoua B, Fadhillah F, Assadi AA, Amrane A, Ali FAA, Zhang J, Kebir M, Tahraoui H
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Catalysts
Year: 2026
Volume: 16
Issue: 2
Online publication date: 17/02/2026
Acceptance date: 13/02/2026
Date deposited: 09/03/2026
ISSN (electronic): 2073-4344
Publisher: MDPI
URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/catal16020193
DOI: 10.3390/catal16020193
Data Access Statement: The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors
Altmetrics provided by Altmetric
