Jatropha integerrima flower extract mediated green synthesis of silver nanoparticles: spectroscopic, catalytic, and antioxidant analysis

Abstract Plant extract mediated nanoparticles have gained enormous attention for their green and rational approach and developed as an alternative to conventional chemical and physical methods. Here, the less exploited Jatropha integerrima flower extract is used in the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. The as-prepared nanoparticles exhibit a strong surface plasma resonance around 420 nm. Several spectroscopic techniques confirmed the formation of silver nanoparticles with an average size of 32.07 nm, stabilized by functional groups. The catalytic activity of synthesized nanoparticles for Rhodamine B dye degradation in the presence of sodium borohydride was investigated. The results showed that the 100 µL catalyst dose degraded the alkaline solution of dye up to 98%, with a high rate constant of 1.2110 min−1. In addition, the nanoparticles were tested for antioxidant activity using the 2,2-dipehnyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical assay. The calculated IC50 value for synthesized nanoparticles was 33.63 ± 0.53 µg/mL. Thus, the as-prepared nanoparticles are excellent candidates for catalytic and antioxidant activities compared to other materials used so far.