Synthesis of Au, Ag, and Au–Ag Bimetallic Nanoparticles Using <i>Pulicaria undulata</i> Extract and Their Catalytic Activity for the Reduction of 4-Nitrophenol
Merajuddin Khan,
Khaleel Al-hamoud,
Zainab Liaqat,
Mohammed Rafi Shaik,
Syed Farooq Adil,
Mufsir Kuniyil,
Hamad Z. Alkhathlan,
Abdulrahman Al-Warthan,
Mohammed Rafiq H. Siddiqui,
Mihail Mondeshki,
Wolfgang Tremel,
Mujeeb Khan,
Muhammad Nawaz Tahir
Affiliations
Merajuddin Khan
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Khaleel Al-hamoud
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Zainab Liaqat
Department Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg Universität of Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
Mohammed Rafi Shaik
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Syed Farooq Adil
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mufsir Kuniyil
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Hamad Z. Alkhathlan
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Abdulrahman Al-Warthan
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Rafiq H. Siddiqui
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mihail Mondeshki
Department Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg Universität of Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
Wolfgang Tremel
Department Chemie, Johannes Gutenberg Universität of Mainz, Duesbergweg 10-14, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
Mujeeb Khan
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Muhammad Nawaz Tahir
Department of Chemistry, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, P.O. Box 5048, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Plant extract of Pulicaria undulata (L.) was used as both reducing agent and stabilizing ligand for the rapid and green synthesis of gold (Au), silver (Ag), and gold–silver (Au–Ag) bimetallic (phase segregated/alloy) nanoparticles (NPs). These nanoparticles with different morphologies were prepared in two hours by stirring corresponding metal precursors in the aqueous solution of the plant extracts at ambient temperature. To infer the role of concentration of plant extract on the composition and morphology of NPs, we designed two different sets of experiments, namely (i) low concentration (LC) and (ii) high concentration (HC) of plant extract. In the case of using low concentration of the plant extract, irregular shaped Au, Ag, or phase segregated Au–Ag bimetallic NPs were obtained, whereas the use of higher concentrations of the plant extract resulted in the formation of spherical Au, Ag, and Au–Ag alloy NPs. The as-prepared Au, Ag, and Au–Ag bimetallic NPs showed morphology and composition dependent catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NPh) to 4-aminophenol (4-APh) in the presence of NaBH4. The bimetallic Au–Ag alloy NPs showed the highest catalytic activity compared to all other NPs.
