01108nas a2200145   4500008004100000245006100041210006000102260000800162300001400170490000600184520062200190100001400812700001400826856012200840       2016                        eng d00aBioinspired eco-friendly synthesis of ZrO2 nanoparticles0 aBioinspired ecofriendly synthesis of ZrO2 nanoparticles  cAUG  a3068-30750 v73 aHere we report the extracellular biosynthesis of zirconia (ZrO2) nanoparticles under ambient conditions by challenging the fungus Humicola sp. with potassium hexafluorozirconate (K2ZrF6) as a precursor. Transmission electron micrograph (TEM) showed that nanoparticles are quasi-spherical in shape with an average particle size of 13 nm. The structural investigation was done using selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and powder XRD which show that the nanoparticles are perfectly crystalline with an orthorhombic structure. XPS and FTIR analysis explained the presence of proteins on the nanoparticles surfaces.1 aUddin, I.1 aAhmad, A.  uhttps://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84988430948&origin=inward&txGid=25fe3c642542aef24895f8428cb2918b