Investigation of Catalytic Potential and Radical Scavenging Efficacy of Terminalia bellerica Roxb Bark Mediated Ecofriendly Silver Nanoparticles

Current study discloses eco-friendly one pot robust method for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles by employing novel bark extract of the medicinal plant Terminalia bellerica Roxb. Synthesized silver nanoparticles (B-AgNPs) were found spherical and crystalline, as confirmed by UV–visible spectroscopy, XRD, TEM and FTIR. Catalytic potential of B-AgNPs was assessed by reductive degradation of various waste water pollutants, such as 4-nitrophenol, methyl orange, methylene blue and eosin yellow that fitted well to pseudo first order kinetics. B-AgNPs were found most efficient towards the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and removed 88.7% of it in 60 min. An artificial neural networks (ANNs) model based on experimental data was developed to describe the nonlinear behavior of the catalytic process that was found most accurate for the reductive degradation of eosin yellow. Antioxidant activity, evaluated by standard DPPH and ABTS assays, was dose dependent and B-AgNPs were found two fold potent in DPPH radical scavenging than the standard used. These results suggest that B-AgNPs could be a sustainable source of technological innovation in wastewater treatment and management of oxidative stress related health disorders.