ZnS semiconductor quantum dots production by an endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus

• Endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus isolated from a medicinal plant Nothapodytes foetida was used for the synthesis of quantum dots.
• Morris-Weber kinetic model and Lagergren's pseudo-first-order rate equation were used to study the biosorption kinetics.
• Polycrystalline ZnS quantum dots of 18 nm and 58.9 nm from TEM and DLS, respectively.

The development of reliable and eco-friendly processes for the synthesis of metal sulphide quantum dots has been considered as a major challenge in the field of nanotechnology. In the present study, polycrystalline ZnS quantum dots were synthesized from an endophytic fungus Aspergillus flavus. It is noteworthy that apart from being rich sources of bioactive compounds, endophytic fungus also has the ability to mediate the synthesis of nanoparticles. TEM and DLS revealed the formation of spherical particles with an average diameter of about 18 nm and 58.9 nm, respectively. The ZnS quantum dots were further characterized using SEM, EDAX, XRD, UV–visible spectroscopy and FTIR. The obtained results confirmed the synthesis of polycrystalline ZnS quantum dots and these quantum dots are used for studying ROS activity. In addition this paper explains kinetics of metal sorption to study the role of biosorption in synthesis of quantum dots by applying Morris-Weber kinetic model. Since Aspergillus flavus is isolated from a medicinal plant Nothapodytes foetida, quantum dots synthesized from this fungus may have great potential in broad environmental and medical applications.

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