^aDepartment of Chemistry, University of Lahore, Sargodha Campus, Sargodha,

40100, Pakistan

^bInstitute of Chemistry, University of Sargodha, Sargodha, 40100, Pakistan

^cDepartment of Chemistry, GC Women University Sialkot-51310, Pakistan

Nanoparticles have attracted considerable attention of researchers due to their diverse properties in the fields of catalysis, energy devices, wound healing and drug delivery systems . Synthesis of nanoparticles using plants and microbial extract is a green approach due to easy handling, rapidity and cost-effectiveness. This article reported a simple and green method of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) synthesis using Camellia sinensis leaves extract as reducing agent. State-of-the-art techniques were utilized for the characterization and measure the potential applications of ZnO-NPs. FTIR and SEM analysis were performed to confirm the nature of bonding and morphology of NPs. XRD analysis confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite structure and crystallite size (34 nm) of ZnO- NPs. EDX analysis was performed to check the purity of NPs. Energy band gap of valence band and conduction band was found 3.278 eV using UV/Visible spectrophotometry.

Purified ZnO-NPs were utilized to determine the photocatalytic potential for degradation of hazardous dye (methylene blue) at λmax of 668 nm under irradiation of sunlight. The results indicated ~92% photodecomposition of dye after 110 min of sunlight irradiation.

Moreover, ZnO-NPs also revealed the antibacterial potential, having better inhibition power against gram-negative bacterial strains.