A Comprehensive Review of Plant‐Mediated Greener Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles for Photocatalytic Removal of Emerging Contaminants

ABSTRACT Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are emerging as an auspicious class of nanomaterials, owing to their unique physicochemical properties, affordability, and biocompatibility. This article inspects recent progressions in the synthesis, properties, and environmental practices of ZnO NPs with an emphasis on green production using plant extracts. Green synthesis is a more inexpensive and ecologically friendly method of creating stable and biologically harmless nanoparticles than physical and chemical methods. ZnO NPs differ in size (10–80 nm), shape, and morphology based on the plant source and synthesis technique. Despite their large surface area and an ideal band gap (∼3.2 eV), green‐synthesised ZnO NPs exhibit remarkable photocatalytic degradation (up to 95%) of organic dyes such as methylene blue (MB), rhodamine B (RhB), and methyl orange (MO) under UV or visible light. Green‐synthesized ZnO NPs are effective and sustainable materials for environmental remediation and wastewater treatment.