RACHNA BHATERIA, YOGITA SHARMA*, ATUL BHARDWAJ, RAJANI UPADHYAY, PREETI MALIK, PREETI VERDODIA, ASHU SAINI AND SUNAINA NARWAL
Department of Environmental Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak-124 001 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail : yogiita66@gmail.com; Mobile : 9643423720)
(Received : April 30, 2019; Accepted : June 25, 2019)
ABSTRACT
Greener approach for fabrication of metal nanoparticles (NPs) with catalytic properties and their small size has smoothened the way to get better and shield the ecosystem by lessening the use of hazardous chemicals. Weeds are the beneficial resource for synthesizing silver nanoparticles. Weeds provide simple, effortless way with a faster rate of synthesis and are eco-companions. In this study, four weeds, namely, Solanum nigrum, Cannabis sativa, Parthenium hysterophorus and Calotropis gigantean were taken for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The silver ions are reduced by the aqueous leaves extract. Visual colour change shows the formation of silver nanoparticles, but it is confirmed by the UV-visible spectra. The UVVisible spectral analysis revealed distinct bands centered at 417 nm for S. nigrum, at 405 nm for C. sativa, 417 nm for P. hysterophorus and 427 nm for C. gigantean. The size of the green synthesized AgNPs and their morphology were determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. TEM analysis showed the average particle size from 16-20 nm for synthesized AgNPs. The morphology of AgNPs was predominantly spherical. This paper reports a simplistic and faster biosynthetic route for AgNPs from potential weeds like S. nigrum, C. sativa, P. hysterophorus and C. gigantean. Results revealed that plants were the efficient source for AgNPs fabrication, which had many applications in diverse fields.
Key words : Green synthesis, silver nanoparticles, weeds, Solanum nigrum, Parthenium hysterophorus, Cannabis sativa, Calotropis gigantean, TEM