Microwave assisted rapid green synthesis of gold nanoparticles using Annona squamosa L peel extract for the efficient catalytic reduction of organic pollutants

Here we demonstrate a rapid green synthetic approach for the production of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using microwave irradiation, in which Annona squamosa L (AS) fruit waste extract served as a sole agent for both reduction and stabilization. Synthetic conditions were optimized by monitoring the changes surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak, zeta potential and DLS size distribution. TEM results revealed that under optimized synthetic conditions monodispersed and spherical nanoparticles with average diameter of 5 +/- 2 nm could be achieved. The possible mechanism involved in the formation of AuNPs was interpreted by FTIR. The formed AuNPs dispersion remained stable to environmental conditions like temperature, ionic strength and pH of the medium and exhibited high shelf life. Further they exhibited admirable catalytic activity for the efficient reduction of Congo red & Methylene Blue and 4-Nitrophenol in the presence of NaBH4, which is stable even after five cycles of reaction. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.