Mangifera Indica leaf-assisted biosynthesis of well-dispersed silver nanoparticles

The use of various parts of plants for the synthesis of nanoparticles is considered as a green technology as it does not involve any harmful chemicals. The present study reports a facile and rapid biosynthesis of well-dispersed silver nanoparticles. The method developed is environmentally friendly and allows the reduction to be accelerated by changing the temperature and pH of the reaction mixture consisting of aqueous AgNO3 and mangifera Indica leaf extract. At a pH of 8, the colloid consists of well-dispersed triangular, hexagonal and nearly spherical nanoparticles having size similar to 20 nm. The UV-vis spectrum of silver nanoparticles gave surface plasmon resonance (SPR) at 439 nm. The synthesized nanocrystals were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Water soluble organics present in the leaf are responsible for the reduction of silver ions. This green method provides faster synthesis comparable to chemical methods and can be used in areas such as cosmetics, foods and medical applications. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.