Pyto-Architechture of Ag, Au and Ag–Au bi-metallic nanoparticles using waste orange peel extract for enable carcinogenic Congo red dye degradation

Abstract

Ecologically inspired to develop silver, gold and silver/gold bimetallic nanoparticles from discarded orange peel extract. The plant-derived compounds included in discarded orange peel extract have been accountable for the development of Ag, Au and Ag–Au bimetallic nanoparticles, that might be used in the biosynthetic process. The qualitative assessment of developed silver, gold and silver/gold bimetallic nanoparticles has been performed by UV–visible, XRD pattern, FT IR analysis, TEM/HRTEM, EDX and BET isotherm analysis. In this investigation, the photocatalytic effect of developed silver, gold and silver/gold bimetallic nanoparticles on Congo red dye breakdown efficiency was achieved at 96%, 94%, and 99.2%, respectively. Due to prolonged electron-hole recombination process was investigated using UV irradiation and reused for up to 5 consecutive runs without significant loss of photocatalytic activity. Moreover, silver, gold, and silver/gold bimetallic nanoparticles manufactured in an environmentally benign manner could potentially contribute to the ecological cleanup.