Improved method for separation of silver nanoparticles synthesized using the Nyctanthes arbor-tristis shrub

Abstract

Plant-mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles through green chemistry approach has evolved into a new era of research; however, the heterogeneous size and dispersity of silver nanoparticles have limited its applications, such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering, plasmon resonance, and more specifically in the medical field of target drug delivery and therapeutic activity. Here-we investigated the effect of purification and separation modes on the dispersity, size, and morphology of silver nanoparticles, synthesized by plant extract ( Nyctanthes arbor-tristis ). Transmission electron microscopy revealed silver nanoparticles with an average diameter of 13.0 nm when synthesized through ethanol precipitation, which is advantageously smaller. This result suggests that the silver nanoparticles size can be fine-tuned by changing the separation mode during purification from plant extract. Due to uniformity, our obtained nanoparticles can be expected to show higher catalytic activity towards photochemical reactions, drug delivery and antibacterial activity due to the absence of inactive coating layer (capping agent).