In recent times, tremendous efforts have been devoted to the efficient and cost-effective advancements of electrochemically active metal oxide nanomaterials. Here, we have synthesized a facile nanomaterial of ZnO@PdO/Pd by employing extracted fuel from E. cognata leaves following a hydrothermal route. The phyto-fueled ZnO@PdO/Pd nanomaterial was fabricated into a supercapacitor electrode and was scrutinized by galvanostatic charge–discharge, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry to evaluate its energy storage potential, and transport of electrons and conductivity. Substantial specific capacitance i.e., 178 F g⁻¹ was obtained in the current study in aKOH electrolyte solution. A specific energy density of 3.7 W h Kg⁻¹ was measured using the charge–discharge data. A high power density of 3718 W Kg⁻¹ was observed for the ZnO@PdO/Pd electrode. Furthermore, the observed low internal resistance of 0.4 Ω suggested effective electron- and ion diffusion. Thus, the superb electrochemical behavior of the ZnO@PdO/Pd nanocomposite was exposed, as verified by the significant redox behavior shown by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge.

The present study has demystified the first and single step prunosynthesis of the spherical silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from aqueous fruit extract of angiospermic plant, Prunus cerasifera, which has remarkable fusion of reducing cum stabilizing bioactive components (phenols, anthocyanins, carotenoids, flavonoids, organic acids, tannins and vitamins). Highly stable prunosynthetic AgNPs with 2.04 nm average crystallite size were synthesized in dark and in sunlight at optimized condition of temperature, time and P. cerasifera concentration. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized through UV–Vis, FTIR, XRD, TGA, SEM and GCMS. Photocatalytic activity of prunosynthetic AgNPs was evaluated for methyl red, erichrome black, methyl blue, bromophenol blue and bromocresol green via UV–Vis. Degradation was achieved (<15 minutes) and expressed as pseudo-first-order kinetics. Prunosynthetic AgNPs demonstrated broad spectrum dose-dependent inhibition (in vitro) in comparison to standard antimicrobial drugs against pathogenic strains X. citri, P. syringae, A. niger, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. terreus, P. chrysogenum, F. solani and L. theobromae. Photocatalytic degradation results show the nanobioremediation potential of prunosynthetic AgNPs in indemnifying the persistent environmental pollutants. From the inherently higher inhibition rates for biomimetic prunosynthetic AgNPs, it is envisioned that these can be commercialized as future “green” nanobactericide and nanofungicide at industrial scale economically from nontoxic phytoconstituents.

Currently, the sustainable fabrication of supercapacitors with enhanced properties is one of the significant research hotspots. Nevertheless, the performances of energy storage devices critically depend on their electrode materials. Accordingly, herein, we report the synthesis of a ZnO–Co₃O₄ nanocomposite using organic compounds of E. cognata, which was obtained via sol–gel synthesis. According to the synthesis strategy, the precursor solution was treated with a plant organic complex, and the consequent transformation to ZnO–Co₃O₄ was achieved via annealing a metal phyto-organic framework-derived complex in air. Furthermore, we tailored the surface chemistry of ZnO–Co₃O₄ using organic molecules of E. cognata. The present study successfully synthesized ZnO–Co₃O₄ nanocomposite with a particle size of 20 nm, which was subsequently investigated as an electrode material for supercapacitors. Consequently, it was revealed that the nano-features and phyto-organic functional groups provided abundant active sites for charge storage with a specific capacitance of 165 F g⁻¹, as calculated by the cyclic voltammetry. The phyto-functionalized nanocomposite exhibited an energy density of 4.1 W h kg⁻¹ and a power density of 7.5 kW kg⁻¹, which were calculated using charge discharge data. Therefore, all the findings effectively demonstrate the potential of the functionalized ZnO–Co₃O₄ nanocomposite as an effective electrode material for application as a supercapacitor on a practical scale.