Epipremnum aureum silver nanoparticles: Antioxidant, antibacterial, and photocatalytic potentials

Abstract

The rising concerns in medical industries and environmental remediation have prompted increased research in nanotechnology specifically green-synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) which use commonly available plant species for synthesis. This is environmentally friendly and sustainable, giving solutions to the current problems. This study investigates AgNP synthesis using Epipremnum aureum leaves (Golden, Neon, Jade, Marble-Queen, and Manjula), highlighting their promising applications by evaluating the antioxidant, photocatalytic, and antibacterial qualities. The synthesis under different temperatures and time showed optimum conditions as 60℃ for 60 min. The scanning electron microscopy analysis showed 70 nm to 90 nm cubic Marble Queen_AgNP, Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis showed 74.1% Ag at 3 keV, zeta potential showed ‒25.3 mV, dynamic light scattering showed 74.61 nm and polydispersity index of 0.278, and Fourier transform infrared showed functional groups necessary for capping and stability of AgNPs. The photocatalytic impact of different concentrations of Marble Queen_AgNP was assessed using methyl red under different conditions: in the absence and presence of sunlight and with the addition of the catalyst. Upon the addition of a catalyst, 4000 ppm Marble-Queen demonstrated a rapid rate of degeneration of k = 0.1948 min‒1 and a slower degradation rate of 0.0752 min‒1 with 266 ppm. The determination of antibacterial activity was performed by Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, in which higher activity was seen against Escherichia coli. The findings highlight that Epipremnum aureum_AgNPs hold promise in the advancement of eco-friendly approaches in the medicinal industry, environmental remediation, and antibacterial therapy.