A facile UV-light mediated synthesis of l-histidine stabilized silver nanocluster for efficient photodegradation of methylene blue

In this paper, we have reported of a facile one-pot UV-light mediated synthesis of highly luminescent, nearly monodisperse silver nanocluster using l-histidine as the stabilizing agent. The as-synthesized silver nanocluster were characterized using diverse spectroscopy and microscopy techniques such as UV/Vis absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A new photocatalyst was engineered by depositing the l-histidine stabilized silver nanocluster on titania-modified alumina particles that were synthesized via a surface sol–gel method. The photocatalytic activity was tested using methylene blue as substrate for the titania-modified alumina supported silver nanocluster. In order to elucidate the effect of the photocatalyst on the photodegradation reaction of methylene blue the concentrations of the catalyst and dye as well as the UV-light irradiation time were systematically varied.

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