Bioinspired synthesis of silver nanoparticles from Morus alba and their photocatalytic degradation and antibacterial activity assessment

Plant-mediated synthesis of nanomaterials has been gradually gaining popularity due to its costeffectiveness and eco-friendly nature. In the present study, we synthesized Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by using the leaf extract of Morus alba. Phytochemicals composition of M. alba was found the major reducing and stabilization agent during the synthesis of Ag nanoparticles. Different characterization techniques were performed for characterizing the synthesized nanoprticles. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the synthesized nanoparticles possess face centered cubic structure with size of 50nm while scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis showed spherical shape. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis showed the presence of phytochemicals that behave as stabilization and reduction. Stability of synthesized nanoparticles upto a certain temperature was shown by thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) analysis Photocatalytic behavior was examined by analysis the degrading potential of malachite green dye that revealed silver nanoparticles have efficient photocatalytic behavior. Significant antibacterial potential against Staphylococcus aureus (14mm) than the Escherichia coli (10mm) was shown by well diffusion method. Our findings suggested the synthesized nanoparticles are possess good potential as photocatalytic and antibacterial activity. The goal of synthesis of nanoparticles using plants and extracts is the best choice, because plants are nature's "chemical factories". They are cost efficient and require low preservation and have good potential.