Optimization and Numerical investigation of organic dye degradation using Response Surface by green synthesized ZrO2 nanoparticles and its antibacterial activity

In this work, the tetragonal Zirconium oxide (ZrO2) nanoparticles (NPs) were successfully synthesized by solution combustion method using Zirconium (IV) oxynitrate hydrate as the metal precursor and an oxidizer, Basella alba raw extract at 6000C. In this study, natural fuel is used to avoid harmful chemical fuels that may pollute the environment during combustion. The impact of the fuel-to-oxidant molar ratio on the surface morphological features of nanocrystalline zirconia particles has been documented. We investigated the Physico-chemical properties of the ZrO2 NPs via thorough characterizations like XRD, EDS, SEM, TEM, FTIR, UV-Vis, and BET. ZrO2 NPs exhibit perfect photocatalytic degradation activity towards Evans blue, a toxic dye. The influence of contact time, initial dye concentration, and pH were among the independent variables used in the study. The Response Surface Model (RSM) was used to optimize and describe the interdependencies of the different variables. The method was evaluated using the Box-Behnken design (BBD). A second-order polynomial model was used to properly understand the experimental results, and the effectiveness of the chosen model was verified by the strong agreement in determination coefficient values. ZrO2 NPs also exhibit good antibacterial activity on Gram-negative Klebsiella pneumoniae and Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis.