Harnessing Sterculia foetida Seed Coat for Silver Nanoparticles Biofabrication: Characterization and A Rapid, Highly Efficient Catalyst for Methylene Blue Degradation

Our study presents an environmentally friendly method for fabricating silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) by applying the water extract of the Sterculia foetida (SFSC) seed coat as both a reducing and stabilizing agent. We also examined their effectiveness in catalyzing methylene blue (MB) degradation. The successful fabrication of SFSC-Ag-NPs was confirmed through various analyses, including UV-Vis spectroscopy, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). A peak in surface plasmon resonance indicated the development of colloidal SFSC-Ag-NPs at 432 nm within the UV-Vis absorbance spectrum. The SFSC-Ag-NPs demonstrated good stability, evidenced by a negative zeta potential of -63.8 mV. XRD diffractograms revealed that the crystal structure of SFSC-Ag-NPs is a face-centered cubic with creditable crystalline properties. HR-TEM results revealed that the SFSC-Ag-NPs exhibit quasi-spherical and hexagonal shapes, averaging 14.42 nm in size. The results of the catalytic performance indicated that SFSC-Ag-NPs were highly effective in degrading MB at neutral pH, achieving a remarkable efficiency of 99.84% in just 17 minutes. The degradation process follows pseudo-1st-order kinetics, with a 9.47 × 10⁻² minutes⁻¹ of rate constant. These results suggest that SFSC-Ag-NPs hold great potential for removing textile dyes in a sustainable environmental application.