A novel eco-benevolent synthesis of BiVO4 nanoparticles using cow urine for antioxidant, anticancer, and photocatalytic activities

Bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) has recently attracted popularity due to its biocompatibility and catalytic nature. The proposed work concerns producing BiVO4 nanoparticles (NPs) from cow urine (CoU) through the green chemistry protocol. The optical and textural features of the synthesized BiVO4 NPs were carefully studied employing XRD, FTIR, UVDRS, FESEM, EDX, and HRTEM analyses. As investigated by XRD data, the formation of monoclinic scheelite BiVO4 NPs with a mean size of 38.1 nm was observed. From the FESEM and HRTEM microimages, spherically shaped morphology was observed. FTIR spectrum studied the functional group analysis, and EDX analysis revealed the existence of elements Bi, O, and V. The band gap energy of BiVO4 NPs was ascertained from DRS data to be 2.37 eV, which was adequate for investigating it as a sunlight-driven photocatalyst. Moreover, the antioxidant performance of BiVO4 NPs was assessed using a DPPH assay in a dose-dependent manner, revealing an IC50 value of 117 μg/mL. Furthermore, the cytotoxic efficacy of BiVO4 NPs was measured on MCF-7 cancer cell lines, and the IC50 value was reported as 94.46 μg/mL. In continuation, the photocatalytic effectiveness of BiVO4 NPs through the degradation of ofloxacin (OFL) antibiotic was studied under sunlight and noticed 87.93