Biosynthesis of Se-Nanorods using Gum Arabic (GA) and investigation of their photocatalytic and cytotoxicity effects

Abstract

This work provides data on the achievement of synthesized Selenium Nanorods (Se-NRs) through green and simple biological method that involve the usage of ascorbic acid as the reducing agent, Gum Arabic (GA) as a stabilizer, and sodium selenite salt (Na2SeO3) as the source of supplying selenium. The synthesis of obtained Se-Nanorods has been confirmed by the application of UV–Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The results of UV–Vis spectroscopy have displayed a bandgap at about 4.85 eV for the crystalline Se-NRs, which is in correspondent to a blue shift. According to the XRD pattern, the Se-NRs contain a high crystallinity and pure hexagonal phase, as well as an average size of about 20 nm. The morphology of Se-NRs has been determined by the exertion of FESEM and TEM images. The appearance of different functional groups throughout the stabilizer has been observed in the FTIR spectrum, and apparently, they can impact the reducing and stabilizing procedures of nanorods. We have investigated the photocatalytic activity of Se-NRs on the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye under UV-A light. Results have indicated that Se-NRs can function as an effective photocatalyst for eliminating water pollution. The outcomes of assessing the cytotoxicity of Se-NRs against CT-26 cell line have declared inhibitory concentration (IC50) is up to 1453 μg/mL.