Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles Prepared with Carrasquilla Fruit Extract (Berberis hallii) and Evaluation of Its Photocatalytic Activity

In this study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were obtained using a green-chemistry procedure. For this protocol, the Carrasquilla extract (CE) (Berberis hallii) and a AgNO3 solution were used as the reducing agent and the metal precursor, respectively. The as-prepared AgNPs after characterization were then used to evaluate the degradation of the methylene blue (MB), the safranin (SF), and the mixture of both dyes in the aqueous phase under solar light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of AgNPs for the degradation of the MB (k = 0.0092 min−1) was higher than the SF (k = 0.00016 min−1) due to the susceptibility of the thiazine ring of the MB to photodegradation contrasted to the phenyl phenazine of the SF. However, SF was mostly removed by adsorption with a maximum uptake of 2907 mg/g. Overall, this eco-friendly and green conversion of silver ions to metallic elements avoids the use of toxic chemicals and could be applied for the degradation/adsorption of dyes used in several industrial processes.