Biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles by using Camellia japonica leaf extract for the electrocatalytic reduction of nitrobenzene and photocatalytic degradation of Eosin-Y

•Green synthesize of Ag-NPs prepared from the leaves of Camellia japonica extract•The Ag-NPs was confirmed by XRD and morphology was studied by TEM analysis•The Ag-NPs showed excellent electrocatalytic activity towards nitrobenzene reduction•Photocatalytic activity was performed using Ag-NPs for the Eosin-Y dye•Photocatalytic Eosin-Y dye degradation was found to be > 97%

In the present study, sphere-like silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) were synthesized by using Camellia japonica leaf extract and its remediation industrial pollutants such as nitrobenzene and Eosin-Y (EY). As-prepared sphere-like Ag-NPs were characterized by various analytical and spectroscopic methods such as UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectra (EDX), and the chemical constituents of the leaf extract were also analyzed by using Gas chromatography and Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS). Fascinatingly, the as-prepared sphere-like Ag-NPs exhibits excellent electrocatalytic and photocatalytic activity for the reduction of nitrobenzene and photo-degradation of EY dye respectively. The Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and amperometric (i-t) studies realized that the electrochemical behavior of sphere-like Ag-NPs modified electrode on nitrobenzene reduction. The proposed nitrobenzene sensor exhibited appreciable wide linear response range and low detection limit of 0.05-21 μM, 23-2593 μM and 12 nM, respectively. The Ag-NPs modified electrode showed excellent selectivity towards the nitrobenzene detection even in the presence of common metal ions and nitroaromatic containing substances. On the other hand, Ag-NPs have excellent photocatalytic activity with > 97% degradation of EY dye after irradiated 60 min. These results indicated that the growth of sphere-like Ag-NPs should be a proficient.

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