Biogenic Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles for Nanosensor-Based Mercury Detection

The production of nanoparticles via green methods is a developing study domain due to potential environmental applications. The green synthesis method is very easy, less toxic and eco-friendly when compared to the chemical synthesis method. This study addresses the silver nanoparticle synthesis utilizing the Acorus calamus leaf extract, which was then employed for environmental applications. The synthesized silver nanoparticles had been verified by UV-vis spectrophotometer, while XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) demonstrated their crystalline structure. The morphology characters of the silver nanoparticles were observed by TEM (transmission electron microscope) as well as SAED (selected area electron diffraction) pattern. The produced silver nanoparticles have been used in selective detection of mercury ions, which is an easy, eco-friendly, less time consuming process. Utilizing an EDAX (energy dispersive X-ray analysis) along with SEM (scanning electron microscope), it was determined that mercury ions had been attached to the surface of silver nanoparticles. FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) had been utilized to characterize the functional groups that exist in the silver nanoparticles that were involved in mercury detection.