Catalytic degradation of methylene blue using biosynthesized gold and silver nanoparticles

The scientific community is searching for new synthesis methods for the production of metallic nanoparticles. Green synthesis has now become a vast developing area of research. Here we report for the first time to best of our knowledge, a new green method for the synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles using the Kashayam, Guggulutiktham, an ayurvedic medicine. This method is nontoxic and environmentally benign. The reduction and the stabilization capacity of the ayurvedic Kashayam are described in this paper. The size and shape of the silver and gold nanoparticles can be tuned by varying the quantity of the Kashayam. The synthesized nanoparticles are characterized using UV-VIS spectroscopy, TEM, XRD and FTIR. The size dependent catalytic activity of the synthesized nanoparticles is established in the reduction of Methylene Blue (MB) by NaBH4. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.