Facile preparation of Ag flower-like nanostructures and their catalytic properties in the degradation of organic dyes

Abstract

This investigation successfully synthesized silver flower-like nanostructures using Arctostaphylos pungens Kunth fruit extract. The efficiency of Ag particles was evaluated by analyzing the degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine B. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), XRD patterns, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterized the synthesis products. SEM observations showed different morphologies appeared between 1 and 15 days during silver ion biosynthesis, with sizes ranging from 350 nm to 1 μm. After 8 days, a new nanostructure appeared, consisting of randomly oriented entangled nanorods. EDS chemical maps confirmed that the nanostructures were composed of silver. X-ray diffraction confirmed that the synthesized silver nanostructure had the typical cubic structure. This morphology showed excellent degradation efficiencies in methylene blue (96%) and rhodamine B (82%), indicating high degradation efficiency.