Green Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Dry Leaf Extract of Ricinus communis and Its Application in Photocatalytic Degradation of Carcinogenic Dyes and Antifungal Studies.

In the present study, we have synthesised silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) in a hazard free method using dry leaves extract of Ricinus communis in a single step. The prepared Ag NPs were confirmed by an absorbance maximum at 430 nm using UV-vis spectrophotometer. Other characterisation techniques like IR, XRD, HR-TEM and FE-SEM were also utilised to confirm their formation and further study of the particle properties. The effect of leaf extract, effect of concentration of salt and effect of pH on formation of Ag NPs were analysed. The Ag NPs thus formed were calculated to possess 78% crystallinity approximately with a spherical shape. The size calculated via HR-TEM and FE-SEM was found to be 36 nm. Ag NPs synthesised using Ricinus communis was further studied for degradation of Congo Red, Methylene Blue and Reactive Red 120 dyes in presence of NaBH₄ under sunlight. The study of antifungal activities of these particles on fungal strains namely Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigates suggests higher efficiency of the Ag NPs against Aspergillus fumigates in comparison to the standard drug fluconazole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]