Toxic Dye Degradation Employing <i>Phoenix dactylifera</i> Seed Extract for the Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles: Characterization and Application

This research highlights the facile green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Phoenix dactylifera seed extracts and its photocatalytic application for the degradation of toxic dyes. The AgNPs synthesis was confirmed by the appearance of its representative absorption peak at 416 nm in UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. Moreover, the reduction of silver ions to Ag was justified through Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction pattern revealed crystalline AgNPs structure with particle size ranging from 5 to 15 nm calculated using the Debye-Scherrer equation. The rectangular-like structural morphology of synthesized AgNPs was observed in scanning electron micrographs. The as-synthesized AgNPs demonstrated higher photocatalytic activity for the degradation of malachite green (MG) and congo red (CR) followed by methylene blue (MB), and crystal violet (CV) under UV irradiation. In addition, rate constant (k) and percentage degradation were also calculated. The present study presents a facile green synthesis pathway and its potentially successful manipulation in the reduction of toxic dyes under the illumination of UV-light.