Effect of amino acids as a capping agent on the size and morphology of pure AgO nanoparticles and its photocatalyst application

Abstract

AgO nanoparticles were prepared via a simple precipitation approach in presence of different amino acids such as phenylalanine, valine and glycine as size and morphology controller. The single-phase AgO nanoparticles were prepared at room temperature. The smallest particle size was found to be 25 nm in diameter. The magnetic properties of the samples were also investigated using an alternating gradient force magnetometer (AGFM). The optical property of the desired product was studied by UV–Visible spectroscopy and band gap of product was calculated about 2.8 eV. The estimated band gap shows that this product may be used as a photocatalyst, so the photocatalytic test was performed by photooxidation of methyl orange under UV irradiation and in the presence of AgO. The results showed that methyl orange degradation was about 96% under for 70 min, so the synthesized product can be used as an effective photocatalyst.