Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Terminalia cuneata and its catalytic action in reduction of direct yellow-12 dye

•Synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Terminalia cuneata bark is reported.•The size of the silver nanoparticles is in the range of 20–50 nm.•The catalytic reduction of direct yellow-12 was achieved using NaBH4.

Facile green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous bark extract of Terminalia cuneata has been reported in this article. The effects of concentration of the extract, reaction time and pH were studied by UV–Vis spectroscopy. Appearance of yellow color with λmax around ~ 420 nm suggested the formation of AgNPs. The stable AgNPs were further characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS) with zeta potential and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. The synthesized AgNPs were in the size range of 25–50 nm with a distorted spherical shape identified from HR-TEM analysis. The catalytic activity of AgNPs on the reduction of direct yellow-12 using NaBH4 was analyzed using a UV–Vis spectrophotometer. This study showed the efficacy of biogenic AgNPs in catalyzing the reduction of direct yellow-12.

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