Fabrication and characterization of ZnO/Ag nanocomposite using phoenix dactylifera mucilage for antibacterial applications

The central focus of this work was to synthesize a ZnO/Ag nanocomposite employing a sustainable, cost-effective, and eco-friendly approach with fewer harmful chemicals. The mucilage of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) was utilized for the purpose of capping and sealing. The synthesized ZnO/Ag exhibited a face-centered cubic structure of Ag and a hexagonal wurtzite crystalline phase. Their mean crystallite size was 25 nm. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the particles have a spherical morphology. The antibacterial efficacy of the fabricated ZnO/Ag nanocomposite was evaluated against the bacterial strains S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli, A. hydrophila, and B. cereus using the agar well diffusion technique. The ZnO/Ag nanocomposite generated inhibitory zones of 15.3 ± 0.58 mm, 15.7 ± 0.58 mm, 15.5 ± 0.5 mm, 11.4 ± 0.51 mm, and 10.6 ± 0.58 mm, respectively. In the future, antibacterial biobased bandages for wound healing and hand sanitizers may be developed utilizing the ZnO/Ag nanocomposite, which has demonstrated antibacterial efficacy and was produced by a cost-effective and eco-friendly method.