Nanoparticle Synthesis on ficus religiosa
What's Happening
Ficus religiosa (Peepal) leaves contain water-soluble phytochemicals including phenols, tannins, steroids, alkaloids, flavonoids, and lanosterol that function as effective reducing and capping agents for silver nanoparticle (AgNP) synthesis. When 0.1 mM AgNO₃ is added to the leaf extract and incubated at room temperature, the bio-reduction process converts silver ions to metallic silver nanoparticles, evidenced by a color change from green to dark brown within minutes.
How to Fix It
- 1
Prepare leaf extract: Wash 5g fresh Ficus religiosa leaves with distilled water, macerate with distilled water using mortar and pestle, filter through muslin cloth, adjust to 100 mL total volume
- 2
Synthesize AgNPs: Add 0.1 mM AgNO₃ solution to leaf extract at 1:10 ratio, incubate at room temperature until color changes from green to dark brown indicating nanoparticle formation
- 3
Characterize using UV-Visible spectroscopy: Confirm Surface Plasmon Resonance peak at 422 nm indicating successful AgNP synthesis
- 4
Analyze with FTIR spectroscopy: Identify biomolecule functional groups - O-H stretch (3435 cm⁻¹), C-H stretching (2953, 2853 cm⁻¹), C=C stretching (1644 cm⁻¹), C-O phenols (1219 cm⁻¹) - confirming phytochemical capping
- 5
Verify with SEM imaging: Confirm spherical morphology with particle size 50-100 nm and polydisperse distribution without conglomeration
How to Prevent It
Maintain proper leaf extract preparation protocols: use fresh leaves, wash thoroughly with distilled water, macerate at 50 mg/mL concentration, and filter through muslin cloth. Store extracts at room temperature and use within 24 hours for optimal nanoparticle yield.