Open AccessGreen synthesis of the Ag/ZnO nanocomposite using Valeriana officinalis L. root extract: application as a reusable catalyst for the reduction of organic dyes in a very short time
Author(s) -
YeganehFaal Ali,
Bordbar Maryam,
Negahdar Neda,
Nasrollahzadeh Mahmoud
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
iet nanobiotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.366
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1751-875X
pISSN - 1751-8741
DOI - 10.1049/iet-nbt.2016.0198
Subject(s) - nanocomposite , materials science , methyl orange , nuclear chemistry , catalysis , congo red , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , scanning electron microscope , aqueous solution , transmission electron microscopy , methylene blue , methyl red , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , photocatalysis , composite material , adsorption , engineering
A facile and green synthesis of the Ag/ZnO nanocomposite by extract of Valeriana officinalis L. root in the absence of any stabiliser or surfactant has been reported in this work. The green synthesised Ag/ZnO nanocomposite was characterised by Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), elemental mapping, Fourier‐Transform infrared (FT‐IR), X‐ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and UV‐Vis spectroscopy. According to SEM and TEM images, the Ag and ZnO particles are spherical with diameters of less than 20 and 40–50 nm, respectively. The Ag NPs/ZnO nanocomposite proved to be an effective catalyst in the reduction of various dyes including methyl orange (MO), Congo red (CR) and methylene blue (MB) in the presence of NaBH 4 in aqueous media at ambient temperature. A maximum degradation (100%) of dyes was performed using Ag/ZnO nanocomposite. The extraordinary performance of the prepared Ag/ZnO nanocomposite is attributed to the synergetic effect induced by both ZnO and Ag NPs in the catalytic degradation of organic dyes. The catalyst could be reused and recovered several times with no significant loss of catalytic activity.