Abstract
In pursuit of greener nanoscale research, the utilization of the reductive potency of a common byproduct of food-processing industry, i.e., orange peel, has been researched to prepare “green” silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and scanning electron microscopy. The results confirmed that silver nanoparticles were formed at the investigated concentrations of Ag+ (0.25–6.0 mmol/L) during 5–10 minutes, at ratio AgNO3 : extract (mL) = 1 : 1, and at 75°C. From the SEM images, the silver nanoparticles are found to be almost spherical. Powder XRD results reveal that Ag nanoparticles had a face-centered cubic crystal structure. The zeta potential value for AgNPs obtained was −21.7 mV, indicating the moderate stability of synthesized nanoparticles. The effect of pH on nanoparticle synthesis has been determined by adjusting the pH of the reaction mixtures. The catalytic effectiveness of the prepared green catalyst, AgNPs, has also been investigated in catalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye. The catalytic degradation reaction under solar irradiation was completed (99%) within 35 min, signifying excellent catalytic properties of silver nanoparticles in the reduction of MB.
Highlights
Nowadays, green chemistry is an emphasized area of research and requires some additional efforts for the implementation of sustainable methods in order to achieve the desired products as well as minimize and further eliminate the waste materials produced
AgNPs were synthesized using plasmochemically obtained orange peel extract mixed with silver nitrate solution (OrPWE-AgNPs) (Figure 2). e yellow extract started changing and turned to a dark brown extract after ∼10 min (Figure 2(a)). e presence of an absorption peak at 430 nm on the presented curve indicates the Ag nanoparticles formation after reaction with plasmochemically obtained OrPWE (Figure 2(a)). e reaction was monitored by UV-Vis spectroscopy over the course of 20 min in order to study the kinetics of the reaction (Figure 2(b))
It was established that a gradual increase in the absorbance is observed during the first 1–10 min of synthesis, which indicates the rise of the AgNPs content with the growth of treatment duration
Summary
Green chemistry is an emphasized area of research and requires some additional efforts for the implementation of sustainable methods in order to achieve the desired products as well as minimize and further eliminate the waste materials produced. Different traditional methods have been employed in the production of nanosized metallic silver particles with different morphologies and sizes, for example, chemical reduction, electrochemical, photochemical, microwave-assisted, hydrothermal, laser ablation, and sol-gel methods [3,4,5,6]. As these methods utilize precarious and environmentally lethal chemicals and require high energy or low material conversions as well as tedious purification, different issues arise while going through these processes, mainly regarding stabilization and aggregation of nanoparticles.
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