Abstract
The present work describes the biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (NPs) from Cassia auriculata flower extract. The existence of elemental Ag with surface plasmon resonance at 430 nm was shown by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was performed to identify the effective functional groups of the flower extract. Spherical, polydisperse Ag NPs with high-crystallinity face-centered cubic structure were revealed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The reduction of Ag+ ions and their binding energy were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Ag NPs degrade methylene blue dye to 70 % within 120 min. The quenching of O2 center dot , h(+), and OH center dot was evaluated. These properties suggest that silver NPs have potential applications in environmental-related areas.