Catalytic and antioxidant properties of biogenic silver nanoparticles synthesized using Areca catechu nut

The paper reports a simple, versatile and ecofriendly protocol for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles using the aqueous extract of Areca catechu nut and its application in catalysis and antioxidant activity. Nanoparticles of varying sizes have been synthesized at 300 K and 373 K. The synthesized nanoparticles are characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis and Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy. The newly formed silver nanoparticles are stable, spherical and crystalline with average particle size varying from 18.2 to 243 nm on changing the temperature. The phytochemicals involved in the reduction and stabilization of silver nanopartides are identified using FTIR spectra. The synthesized silver nanoparticles show potent catalytic activity in the degradation of organic pollutants (methylene blue, Eosin-yellowish, methyl orange, and 4-nitrophenol). The catalytic activity is found to be size dependent and the degradation reaction is observed to obey pseudo-first order kinetics. Moreover, antioxidant studies on the as synthesized nanoparticles reveal efficient scavenging of the stable or harmful free radicals including DPPH, NO and OH. The catalytic and antioxidant activities of the biogenic nanoparticles would find applications in environmental and biomedical field. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.