Abstract

In the present study, we have synthesized glutathione modified silver nanoparticles (GSH-AgNPs) in aqueous medium and are characterized by absorption, high resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), selective area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern, dynamic light scattering (DLS), Zeta potential and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopic measurements. Catalytic activity of GSH-AgNPs has been evaluated for the reduction reactions of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), methylene blue (MB dye) and eosin Y (EY dye) in presence of sodium borohydride including the effect of catalyst concentration on the catalytic activity. Furthermore, the rate constants of reduction reactions are determined, which are linearly enhanced upon increasing the concentrations of GSH-AgNPs. It is explored that reduction reactions such as 4-NP, organic dyes by NaBH4 in the presence of catalyst follow a pseudo first order kinetics. The catalytic reduction of 4-NP and organic dyes proceed with a faster rate even in the presence of nanomolar concentration of catalyst.