Cu nanoparticles synthesis using biological molecule of P. granatum seeds extract as reducing and capping agent: Growth mechanism and photo-catalytic activity.

In view of extended applications of nanoparticles, the nanoparticles synthesis is an extensive research field and green synthesis is one of the co-friendly methodologies. Plant extract mediated synthesis of nanoparticles has gained much attention in current decade. In current investigation, copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) were prepared using P. granatum seeds extract (biological molecules) from copper(II) chloride salt. The synthesized CuNPs were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction measurements (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X- Ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and atomic force microscopy techniques. The CuNPs formation occurred through reduction of metal ions followed by nucleation. The size of the CuNPs was in the range of 40-80nm (average particle size was 43.9nm) with semi spherical shape and uniformly distribution. Photocatalytic activity was evaluated by degrading methylene blue dye (150mg/L) at various CuNPs doses (10mg/L-100mg/L). The synthesized CuNPs showed excellent PCA for the degradation of methylene blue (MB) under solar light irradiation and up to 87.11% degradation was achieved. The oxidative degradation mechanism for MB was proposed. In view of efficient PCA, the use of biological molecules of P. granatum seeds extracts for the synthesis of CuNPs.

Nickel nanoparticle synthesis using Camellia Sinensis as reducing and capping agent: Growth mechanism and photo-catalytic activity evaluation.

Recently, the biosynthesis of nanoparticle attracted the attention of scientific community due to its simplicity, ease and eco-friendly nature. In the present study, Camellia Sinensis (C. Sinensis) leaves extract was employed for the synthesis of nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs). The fabricated NiNPs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray diffraction techniques. The photocatalytic activity (PCA) was evaluated by degrading crystal violet (CV) dye. The NiNPs size was in the range of 43.87-48.76nm, spherical in shape and uniformly distributed with magnetization saturation of 0.073 emu/g. The NiNPs showed promising PCA under solar light irradiation. At optimized conditions, up to 99.5% CV dye degradation was achieved. Results revealed that biosynthesis can be adopted for the synthesis of NiNPs in nano-size range since it is simple, cost effective and eco-friendly in nature versus physico-chemical methods.