Green synthesis of Ag/TiO۲ nanocomposites by Crataegus pentagyna extract for catalytic reduction of ۴-nitrophenol

In this work, Ag/TiO۲ nanocomposites have been synthesized by using Crataegus pentagyna fruit extract without any stabilizing agent or surfactant. The prepared nanocomposites were characterized using various analytical techniques including field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), UV-Vis and fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The results of the ICP-OES analysis show that the amount of ۳.۵ mmol/g of Ag nanoparticles has been successfully loaded on TiO۲. These nanocomposites show high catalytic activity toward reduction of ۴-nitrophenol (۴-NP) in the presence of aqueous NaBH۴ solution at room temperature. The catalytic reduction was followed by UV-Vis spectroscopy. This reaction followed the pseudo-first order rate equation. In terms of catalytic activity, the prepared Ag/TiO۲ nanocomposites perform better activity as compared to pure TiO۲

Keywords:

۴-Nitrophenol , Ag/TiO۲ nanocomposite , Crataegus pentagyna , Plant extract , Silver nanoparticles