Aralia elata leaf extracts synthetize ZnO based nanoclusters and its dye removal applications

Aralia elata leaf extracts synthetize ZnO based nanoclusters and its dye removal applications | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Aralia elata leaf extracts synthetize ZnO based nanoclusters and its dye removal applications Jin Huang, zhiguo Liu, yujie Fu, xiuhua Zhao This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9054863/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 01 May, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract At the nanoscale, various materials exhibit significant changes in their electrical and optical properties, showing optical and electrical performance that is entirely different from that of macroscopic materials, and thus have been widely applied. Among them, zinc oxide nanoclusters (ZnONCs) are commonly applied in the fields of antibacterial and bacteriostatic, photocatalysis, ultraviolet shielding, sensor preparation, and dye removal. In this paper, to reduce the use of toxic and harmful chemical reagents, the leaf extract of Aralia elata was used as the chemical modifier and stabilizer, and the functionalized zinc oxide nanocluster material (AE-ZnONCs) was prepared by the green hydrothermal synthesis method, which can be used for the removal of organic dyes in wastewater. SEM confirmed that the surface of AE-ZNONCs was a loose lamellar structure, with AE extract adhering to the material surface. TEM characterization shows that the internal structure of AE-ZnONCs is a loose lamellar structure. EDS and XRD confirmed that the nanomaterials contained zinc oxide and AE plant components. TGA characterization confirmed that the mass proportion of AE extract attached to the material surface was 18.3%. AE-ZnONCs could rapidly and efficiently adsorb methylene blue (MB) and sunset yellow (SY) dyes from water, with the adsorption process following second-order kinetics and adhering to the Freundlich-type multilayer adsorption isotherm model. The green hydrothermal preparation method for functionalized zinc oxide boasts advantages such as abundant raw materials, high cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, controllable parameters, simple equipment, and easy operation, with broad application prospects. Physical sciences/Chemistry Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Physical sciences/Materials science Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology NCs: Nanoclusters AE: Aralia elata ZnO: Zinc oxide ZnONCs: Zinc oxide nanoclusters AE- ZnONCs: Aralia elata- zinc oxide nanoclusters MB: Methylene blue SY: Sunset yellow Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 01 May, 2026 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 11 Mar, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 09 Mar, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 09 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 06 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9054863","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":603078236,"identity":"d8b25e98-b661-4604-a85a-b1d770d70c17","order_by":0,"name":"Jin Huang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNvbGxgcJBv/s2JiZDxCnhY/ncLPBh4oDyfzsbQnEaZGTSG+TnHHmAOPMnjMGRDqMIbHZmLftDrPBjZyPN94w2MnpNhDUcrDxMW/bMz6DG7mbLecwJBubHSCkhbERZAsz0JbcbdI8DAcStxHUwszYJg3UwrjhRs4zIrWwMYK8fxjkfTYitfAwggI5DRTIxpZzDIjwi/z85w+BUWkDisqHN95U2MkR1IICJHiIjBpkLaTqGAWjYBSMghEBADV+Q/rMtvZJAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Northeast Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jin","middleName":"","lastName":"Huang","suffix":""},{"id":603078237,"identity":"327691f3-0dac-4af1-b4c0-a659360b8a4f","order_by":1,"name":"zhiguo Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Northeast Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"zhiguo","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":603078238,"identity":"7e871ce6-fed9-43db-aff5-873388f1075f","order_by":2,"name":"yujie Fu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Beijing Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"yujie","middleName":"","lastName":"Fu","suffix":""},{"id":603078239,"identity":"caa6ffb6-40fc-46ea-9b4f-0639c0fd31b4","order_by":3,"name":"xiuhua Zhao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Northeast Forestry University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"xiuhua","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhao","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-07 02:53:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9054863/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9054863/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-51235-1","type":"published","date":"2026-05-01T15:58:13+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108437817,"identity":"ff0ca7e0-1a1b-414e-aeeb-a2fa4a6c967a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-04 16:03:50","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1689120,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"AraliaelataleafextractssynthetizeZnObasednanoclustersanditsdyeremovalapplications.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9054863/v1_covered_3a19311a-1633-4087-9028-299b4aa7e935.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Aralia elata leaf extracts synthetize ZnO based nanoclusters and its dye removal applications","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"NCs: Nanoclusters, AE: Aralia elata, ZnO: Zinc oxide, ZnONCs: Zinc oxide nanoclusters , AE- ZnONCs: Aralia elata- zinc oxide nanoclusters, MB: Methylene blue, SY: Sunset yellow","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9054863/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9054863/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAt the nanoscale, various materials exhibit significant changes in their electrical and optical properties, showing optical and electrical performance that is entirely different from that of macroscopic materials, and thus have been widely applied. Among them, zinc oxide nanoclusters (ZnONCs) are commonly applied in the fields of antibacterial and bacteriostatic, photocatalysis, ultraviolet shielding, sensor preparation, and dye removal. In this paper, to reduce the use of toxic and harmful chemical reagents, the leaf extract of \u003cem\u003eAralia elata\u003c/em\u003e was used as the chemical modifier and stabilizer, and the functionalized zinc oxide nanocluster material (AE-ZnONCs) was prepared by the green hydrothermal synthesis method, which can be used for the removal of organic dyes in wastewater. SEM confirmed that the surface of AE-ZNONCs was a loose lamellar structure, with AE extract adhering to the material surface. TEM characterization shows that the internal structure of AE-ZnONCs is a loose lamellar structure. EDS and XRD confirmed that the nanomaterials contained zinc oxide and AE plant components. TGA characterization confirmed that the mass proportion of AE extract attached to the material surface was 18.3%. AE-ZnONCs could rapidly and efficiently adsorb methylene blue (MB) and sunset yellow (SY) dyes from water, with the adsorption process following second-order kinetics and adhering to the Freundlich-type multilayer adsorption isotherm model. The green hydrothermal preparation method for functionalized zinc oxide boasts advantages such as abundant raw materials, high cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, controllable parameters, simple equipment, and easy operation, with broad application prospects.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Aralia elata leaf extracts synthetize ZnO based nanoclusters and its dye removal applications","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-10 10:22:38","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9054863/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-03-11T04:43:15+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-03-09T11:29:27+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-03-09T11:28:27+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-03-07T02:38:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"4d86d193-706e-4e88-960b-3451070adc81","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 10th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":64170563,"name":"Physical sciences/Chemistry"},{"id":64170564,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"},{"id":64170565,"name":"Physical sciences/Materials science"},{"id":64170566,"name":"Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-04T16:02:38+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-9054863","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-51235-1","journal":{"identity":"scientific-reports","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Scientific Reports"},"publishedOn":"2026-05-01 15:58:13","publishedOnDateReadable":"May 1st, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-10 10:22:38","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41598-026-51235-1","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-51235-1","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9054863","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9054863","identity":"rs-9054863","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}