Eco-Friendly Synthesis and Characterization of Silver and Zinc Nanoparticles Using Aqueous Extract from the Bark of Antiaris toxicaria

Abstract

Abstract: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and zinc nanoparticles (ZnNPs) were synthesized by a cheap, rapid, and eco-friendly method using aqueous bark extract of Antiaris toxicaria as both the reducing and capping agents. The synthesized AgNPs and ZnNPs were characterized using a UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The metal ions (M⁺) were rapidly reduced from M⁺ to M⁰ by the aqueous bark extract of Antiaris toxicaria, forming AgNPs and ZnNPs with sizes ranging between 1- 100 nm.  The diffraction peaks were indexed to the face-centered cubic (fcc) phase of silver and zinc, indicating that the synthesized AgNPs and ZnNPs were crystalline in nature. Absorption spectra of AgNPs and ZnNPs showed a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak around a wavelength of 423 nm and 306 nm respectively. The FTIR spectra revealed distinct peaks at 3295.38 cm-¹ attributed to the OH^- group which may be responsible for the reduction of M⁺ to M⁰ and subsequent formation of metal MNPs, 2104.38 cm^-1 corresponding to asymmetric stretching vibrations of methylene (CH₂) group in AgNPs, and a sharp peak at 1634.80 cm^-1 corresponding to a carbonyl (C=O) group.