Screening the Insecticidal Efficacy of Nano ZnO Synthesized via in-situ Polymerization of Crosslinked Polyacrylic Acid as a Template

Nano zinc oxide (ZnO) is a very useful and important material in many industrial and biological applications. In the present work, ZnO was synthesized by post thermal degradation of the precursor “zinc acetate di-hydrate” templated in crosslinked polyacrylic acid (PAA). The crosslinked PAA template was prepared through an in-situ polymerization process adopted in presence of ammonium per sulphate, as an initiator, and N, N'-methylene bis-acrylamide as the crosslinker. Variation of preparation parameters and their impact on the oxide stoichiometry, crystal structure, crystallite size and surface texture of the oxide were investigated. Energy dispersive X-ray technique (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were convincingly used to reveal the oxide structural features and characteristics. The performed bioassay tests indicated the efficacy of this method of preparation to produce nano ZnO with novel insecticidal activity against the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella.