Abstract:
Silver nanoparticles (SNPs) have multifaceted applications ranging from nanomedicine to
nanoremediation. For the first time, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using the aqueous extract of
Clitoria ternatea pods as reducing agent. The formation of SNPs was first confirmed by visual inspection
and then by a characteristic peak at 418nm observed in UV-Vis spectrum. Spherical SNPs with few
agglomerations were noticed in SEM image. EDS spectrum showed a strong signal for elemental silver at
3keV. The crystalline nature of the SNPs was confirmed from a sharp peak obtained in XRD at 38.58°. The
involvement of biomolecules in the formation and capping processes was ascertained by specific bands
such as (cm-1) 3595, 1728, 2924, 1381, 1620 and 1049 in FTIR spectra. The average hydrodynamic size of
the SNPs was 62.51 nm. A low PDI value of 0.264 was observed which validated the monodispersity of the
SNPs. The stability of the SNPs was corroborated by the zeta potential value of – 24.6 mV. In addition, an
important environmental application – degradation of methylene blue dye has been demonstrated in
which SNPs acted as nanocatalysts. The first order kinetic constant for the degradation has been calculated
as 0.1448 min–1. This outcome may play an excellent role in the environmental remediation applications of
the newly synthesized materials.
