Advances in green synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles: An overview

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles (NPs) are potentially useful in various fields such as catalysis, electronics, biomedical, etc. Two important practices which are primarily followed for the synthesis of ZnS NPs are chemical and physical techniques. However, both these techniques are expensive, and more importantly, these processes produce toxic NPs for which the biological and medicinal applications of these NPs find difficulty. In consequence, the biological method (green synthesis) has recently been adopted as an expedient alternative to generate ZnS NPs with higher stability, as this approach is economical, eco-friendly and non-toxic and it includes plant extracts, microorganisms, etc. The present review focuses on the discussion of different green synthetic approaches of ZnS NPs using plant extract, microorganism and other natural products. Besides, a brief description on antimicrobial activities of ZnS NPs has been presented. The findings from this review can suggest a feasible use of plant's extract and microorganisms as a tool for the synthesis of ZnS nanoparticles.