Photochemical decolorization of Methyl Violet dye using Azadirachta indica (Neem) mediated synthesized silver nanoparticles

Manufacturing and use of synthetic dyes for fabric dyeing has become a massive industry. However their toxic nature has become a cause of concern. The dye industries release high content color effluents that are toxic and resistant to degradation by conventional methods. Accumulation of these dyes in water causes eutrophication reduces reoxygenation capacity and damage to the aquatic organisms by hindering the infiltration of sunlight. Here we report a green method for synthesis of silver nanoparticles using the leaf extract of Neem. The biosynthesized nanoparticles are characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, XRD, TEM and FTIR. The AgNPs were used to degrade Methyl violet dye in the presence of sunlight. UV-visible spectra showed the maximum absorbance at 420 nm due to the excitation of surface plasmon vibrations in the AgNPs. FTIR spectrum exhibited the characteristic band at 500 cm which is characteristic to the AgNPs. The XRD spectrum showed four different diffraction peaks corresponding to the face centered cubic (FCC) silver lines. TEM study revealed spherical AgNPs with the size range of 7-22 nm. The results of this study show the successful photodegradation of Methyl violet dye where 97% dye is degraded after 50 hours treatment.