Plant mediated synthesis of zirconium oxide nanoparticles using Jasminum officinale and screening its antimicrobial activity - An efficient Photocatalyst for decomposition of various dyes

Boosting the shelf life of fruits and protection of crops from pathogenic microorganisms using nanoparticles-based agrochemicals have received consideration across the globe. This paper explores the green synthesis of zirconia nanoparticles (NPs) prepared from different plant extracts, including Vitis vinifera (VV), Aloe barbadensis miller (AB) and Jasminum officinale (JO). The monoclinic phase of zirconia is observed, with smaller crystallite size, when samples are synthesized using JO. The scavenging activity of zirconia NPs prepared using JO was found to be reasonably high. The results of photocatalytic studies showed that the NPs exhibited ~88% and ~90% dye degradation for methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO), respectively. The effect of NPs produced using the optimized synthesis route was investigated for tomato fungal pathogen i.e. Fusarium oxysporum under in vitro and pot experiments. The maximum inhibited fungal growth against F. oxysporum was observed for JO-ZrO2 NPs at a concentration of 20 µg/mL. The results suggest that green synthesized zirconia NPs can be used to keep tomatoes fresh for several days under ambient conditions.