Green Synthesis of recyclable reduced graphene oxide-gold nanocatalyst using Alstonia scholaris: Applications in waste water purification and microbial field

Abstract

A novel green synthesis of reduced gold-graphene oxide (Au-RGO) nanocomposite was fabricated through simple heating method using Alstonia scholaris ( A .scholaris) bark extract. The synthesized nanocatalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Visible spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and size distribution study have been investigated to find the dimension of the gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) grown on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) surface. Subsequently, both the catalytic and photocatalytic performances of this nanocomposite were evaluated by using different organic hazardous dyes and a tentative photocatalytic reaction mechanism was discussed depending on the energy band position. To find the effect on different bacterial strains, antibacterial and antiprotozoal studies have been carried out with this nanocomposite.