The increase in the demand for food has required an increase in the production and efficiency of agricultural crops. These crops, however, are vulnerable to insect attack that can cause considerable damage to their production. In the control of phytophages, chemical pesticides are used that, in addition to fulfilling their functionality, can affect the environment and human health. This has brought about an interest in seeking alternatives for controlling pests, with nanotechnology standing out among these. In this work, ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) were therefore synthesized by a chemical route, and their capacity as a pesticide was assessed by examining their action on the mealybug (). The obtained nanomaterial was characterized using thermal analysis, as well as infrared, visible ultraviolet and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, specific surface area and porosity. The results of this characterization showed that the ZnO was well crystallized, with a particle size of ∼ 78 nm and a crystallite size of ∼ 50 nm, spheroidal morphology and a specific surface area of ∼ 6.14 m/g. Its energy gap value was ∼ 3.15 eV, with an Urbach energy of ∼ 190 meV. To assess the pesticidal capacity of this nanomaterial, on mealybug, suspensions of ZnO-NPs were sprayed on controlled populations of this phytophage, considering three concentrations: 300, 1000 and 3000 ppm. The results showed ∼ 55% effectiveness in the mortality of the individuals evaluated, indicating the potential application of these ZnO-NPs as pesticides. To optimize this functionality of the ZnO-NPs, it is necessary to carry out, in the future, more systematic work that evaluates the effect of other parameters, including their surface characteristics.

中文翻译：

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ZnO 纳米粒子作为农药的用途：体外评估其对植食性粉蚧（Puto barberi）的影响

粮食需求的增加要求提高农作物的产量和效率。然而，这些作物很容易受到昆虫的侵袭，从而对其生产造成相当大的损害。在控制噬菌体时，使用的化学农药除了发挥其功能外，还会影响环境和人类健康。这引起了人们对寻找控制害虫的替代方法的兴趣，其中纳米技术脱颖而出。因此，在这项工作中，通过化学途径合成了氧化锌纳米颗粒（ZnO-NP），并通过检查它们对粉蚧的作用来评估它们作为农药的能力（）。使用热分析、红外、可见紫外和X射线光电子能谱、X射线衍射、扫描电子显微镜、比表面积和孔隙率对所得纳米材料进行了表征。表征结果表明，ZnO 结晶良好，粒径约为 78 nm，微晶尺寸约为 50 nm，形貌呈球形，比表面积约为 6.14 m/g。其能隙值为~ 3.15 eV，乌尔巴赫能量为~ 190 meV。为了评估这种纳米材料的杀虫能力，将 ZnO-NP 悬浮液喷洒在这种噬菌体的受控群体上，考虑三种浓度：300、1000 和 3000 ppm。结果显示，所评估个体的死亡率约为 55%，表明这些 ZnO-NPs 作为杀虫剂的潜在应用。为了优化 ZnO-NP 的这种功能，未来有必要开展更系统的工作，评估其他参数（包括其表面特性）的影响。