Fluorescence quenching and photocatalytic degradation of textile dyeing waste water by silver nanoparticles

• Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been synthesized by chemical method.
• Spherical shaped Ag NPs were obtained.
• Low fluorescence quantum yield was obtained.
• Apparent rate constants were determined.
• Ag NPs acts as a good nanocatalyst for waste water.

Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) of different sizes have been prepared by chemical reduction method and characterized using UV–vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). Fluorescence spectral analysis showed that the quenching of fluorescence of textile dyeing waste water (TDW) has been found to decrease with decrease in the size of the Ag NPs. Experimental results show that the silver nanoparticles can quench the fluorescence emission of adsorbed TDW effectively. The fluorescence interaction between Ag NPs (acceptor) and TDW (donor) confirms the Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) mechanism. Long range dipole–dipole interaction between the excited donor and ground state acceptor molecules is the dominant mechanism responsible for the energy transfer. Furthermore, photocatalytic degradation of TDW was measured spectrophotometrically by using silver as nanocatalyst under UV light illumination. The kinetic study revealed that synthesized Ag NPs was found to be effective in degrading TDW.

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