Green-based synthesis of mixed-phase silver nanoparticles as an effective photocatalyst and investigation of their antibacterial properties

Ag/Ag2O nanoparticles (Ag/Ag2O-NPs) have attracted the attention of many due to exhibiting excellent photocatalytic activity within the UV region. In this work, Ag/Ag2O-NPs were prepared with the employment of sol-gel procedure and the usage of gelatin as a polymerization agent at various temperatures. The obtained Ag/Ag2O-NPs were identified by the means of FT-IR, XRD, UV-Vis, and FESEM/EDX/PSA techniques. XRD results have confirmed the synthesis of Ag/Ag2O-NPs with the face-centered cubic phase (FCC), while the formation of agglomerated spherical nanoparticles has been approved through the FESEM images. The photocatalytic test of Ag/Ag2O-NPs has been assessed for methylene blue (MB) degradation. The degradation percentages of MB dye by Ag/Ag2O-NPs in the optimum conditions was about 93% (pH = 9.0, irradiation time = 360 min, solution temperature = 55 degrees C, C-MB = 1.0 mg L-1, and photocatalyst concentration was 10 mg L-1). Also, the antimicrobial activity of Ag/Ag2O-NPs was checked in regards to gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus and Bacillus subtilis, as well as gramnegative bacteria Escherichia Coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The obtained results showed that Escherichia Coli was more susceptible relative to Staphylococcus aureus, which can be stated in other words that Staphylococcus aureus has displayed resistance towards Ag/Ag2O-NPs. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.