Photo-induced rapid biosynthesis of silver nanoparticle using aqueous extract of Xanthium strumarium and its antibacterial and antileishmanial activity

[Display omitted] •Green synthesis of AgNPs using Xanthium strumarium leaf-extract.•The biosynthesis process was photoinduced and able to reduce AgNO3 within 10s.•AgNPs was synthesized without any external energy supply and instrumental support.•Antibacterial and antileishmanial efficacy of AgNPs was evaluated. The current work describes the biosynthesis of stable AgNPs using aqueous extract of Xanthium strumarium (AEX) which act as both reducing as well as a stabilizing agent. The biosynthesis was confirmed by UV–visible spectroscopy where the presence of SPR band at λmax 436nm corresponded to the existence of AgNPs in reaction mixture. The optimum conditions for biosynthesis of AgNPs were 30min of sunlight exposure time, 3.0% (v/v) of AEX inoculum dose and 3.5mM AgNO3 concentration. The synthesized AgNPs was characterized by HRTEM, SAED, FESEM, EDX, XRD, AFM, and FTIR which showed potent antibacterial and antileishmanial activity.