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Updated: May 28, 2026

Millifluidics for Chemical Synthesis and Time-resolved Mechanistic Studies
Published on: November 27, 2013
Catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol using biogenic gold and silver nanoparticles derived from Breynia rhamnoides
Abilash Gangula1, Ramakrishna Podila, Ramakrishna M
1Department of Chemistry, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Prashanthinilayam, India, 515134.
Abstract:
A simple, green method is described for the synthesis of Gold (Au) and Silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) from the stem extract of Breynia rhamnoides. Unlike other biological methods for NP synthesis, the uniqueness of our method lies in its fast synthesis rates (~7 min for AuNPs) and the ability to tune the nanoparticle size (and subsequently their catalytic activity) via the extract concentration used in the experiment. The phenolic glycosides and reducing sugars present in the extract are largely responsible for the rapid reduction rates of Au(3+) ions to AuNPs. Efficient reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) in the presence of AuNPs (or AgNPs) and NaBH(4) was observed and was found to depend upon the nanoparticle size or the stem extract concentration used for synthesis.
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