Abstract
Biosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles has been always remained important because the process does not involve any synthetic harmful agent. In this research work, silver (Ag) nanoparticles were prepared using fresh peel juice of the Citrus sinensis fruit. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized using spectroscopic techniques of field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and uv-visible spectroscopy. After characterization, the synthesized Ag nanoparticles were used in a batch process of the pollutants reduction reactions of the methyl orange and methylene blue dyes in their aqueous solutions. The calculated reduction reaction rate constant was found to be 0.565 and 0.359 min(-1) for methylene blue and methyl orange, respectively. Since, the nanoparticles recovery after using in a chemical reduction process is a difficult task in a batch process, we tested the Ag nanoparticles coated cotton cloth (Ag-CC) as an efficient fixed-bed catalyst system. Since the Ag nanoparticles were immobilized on the CC, it was easy to recover the catalyst. The Ag nanoparticles synthesized through this method were also used in the antibacterial and antifungal studies. In antimicrobial studies, Ag nanoparticles produced high inhibition against the growth of Candida albican, Candida tropicalis and Methicillin drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.