Plant‐based synthesis of NiO nanoparticles using salvia macrosiphon Boiss extract and examination of their water treatment

Abstract

Abstract The goal of this study was to synthesize nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO‐NPs) by the sol–gel method, which involved the use of salvia macrosiphon Boiss plant extract, Ni(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O as a capping agent, and a nickel precursor, respectively. The synthesized NiO‐NPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectrophotometer, X‐ray diffraction (XRD), field electron scanning electron microscopy (FESEM)/energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX), thermo‐gravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analyzes. Also, according to the results of UV–Vis, the gap band of nanoparticles was calculated to be in the range of about 2.9–3.9 eV. The photocatalytic activity of nanoparticles on methylene blue (MB) degradation was investigated and according to the results, about 80% MB was apparently degraded in the presence of NiO‐NPs under UV‐A light (11 W) after 5 h in pH ~ 11. We have evaluated the cytotoxicity of NiO‐NPs on the multiple tumor cells by materials method, and all the utilized concentrations were observed to cause non‐toxic effects; therefore, it can be suggested that these samples have the potential of being employed in different fields of medicine.