Biofabrication of Au–Pt Nanoparticles Using Asarum europaeum Extract and Evaluation of Their Activity in Degradation of Organic Dyes

Abstract

Nanomaterials have attracted much attention in the recent years. The biological synthesis of metal nanoparticles is an important area of research in nanotechnology. This work describes a biological method for the synthesis of Au–Pt nanoparticles using the aqueous extract of Asarum europaeum. The synthesized Au–Pt nanoparticles were characterized by UV–Vis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with EDS profile, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The applied methods made it possible to determine the presence of Au–Pt nanoparticles sized 5–6 nm. The EDS profile shows a gold and platinum signal confirming the formation of Au–Pt nanoparticles. The synthesized Au–Pt nanoparticles were used as a catalyst for the remediation of malachite green and methylene blue. Base on the obtained results, the Au–Pt nanoparticles synthesized using Asarum europaeum showed good catalytic activity in the reduction of methylene blue and malachite green.