A viable green route to produce Ag nanoparticles for antibacterial and electrochemical supercapacitor applications

Abstract

The requisite cost-effective, efficient, and non-toxic routes for nanomaterial synthesis as an effective alternative to expensive and toxic chemical techniques is of prime importance. The present work, for the first time, demonstrates the synthesis of Ag nanoparticles using a Kimchi cabbage extract and its further application in an antibacterial and electrochemical supercapacitor. The green synthesized Ag nanoparticles are characterized in detail using comprehensive characterization techniques. The synthesized Ag nanoparticles display effective antibacterial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial strains. Furthermore, the nanoparticles exhibit a specific capacitance of 424 F/g with an energy density of 14.04 Wh/kg and a power density of 6.41 kW/kg in the supercapacitive studies. The excellent capacitive performance is attributed to the smaller size and porous nature of the Ag thin film, which provides fast and efficient ionic transport from the electrolyte to the electrode. The charge storage mechanism of Ag nanoparticles is elaborated in the study to understand its basic electrochemistry. The presented results provide new insight into a green chemistry approach for nanoparticle synthesis application and suggest an effective alternative for toxic and expensive chemical techniques.