Hydrodynamic cavitation enhanced biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles at room temperature and its mechanism.

Graphical abstract Highlight • Biosynthesis of Ag nanoparticles in a hydrodynamic cavitation system. • Hydrodynamic cavitation enhanced continuous biosynthesis of AgNPs. • The synthesis process without pH enhanced at room temperature. • ESR applied to detect the mechanism. Abstract Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) was employed in order to enhance the biological reducibility of biomass to produce silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) readily. UV–Vis spectra analysis, TEM, HRTEM, SAED and XRD were used to characterize the materials. The results confirmed that AgNPs with uniform distribution could be successfully synthesized by hydrodynamic cavitation enhanced biosynthesis using CP (C. Platycladi) leaf extract (0.3 g/L) without pH enhanced at room temperature (30 °C). Finally, the electron spin resonance (ESR) technique was then applied to detect the mechanism of the enhanced biosynthesis of AgNPs in the HC system. It is concluded that the "hot spot" generated resulting from bubble collapsing is the crucial factor to enhance the reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]