Cefditorene-Mediated Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles and Its Catalytic Activity

Ag(0) NPs were prepared by chemical reduction method in which silver nitrate was taken as the metal precursor and cefditorene as a reducing/capping agent and NaOH as the catalyst for reaction enhancement. The formation of the Ag(0) NPs was monitored using UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy confirmed the formation of Ag(0) NPs by exciting the typical surface plasmon absorption maxima at 405 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the spherical morphology of the (Ag(0) NPs). The crystallite (11 ± 3 nm) and particle size (14.1 ± 2.2 nm) obtained from TEM and XRD analysis were coinciding with each other. Prepared Ag(0) NPs were then used as catalyst against 2-nitroaniline, 3-nitroaniline and 4-nitroaniline, which all showed best catalytic activity.