Effect of capping methods on the morphology of silver nanoparticles: study on the media-induced release of silver from the nanocomposite β-cyclodextrin/alginate

Abstract

Novel multi-functional nanocomposites were fabricated from polysaccharides, alginate (Alg) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) via the ionotropic gelation mechanism. Different procedures for capping silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were used to synthesize the nanocomposites AgNPs@β-CD/Alg. The aqueous extract of L. indica served as a green reductant for the optimized synthesis of the AgNPs. The AgNPs were incorporated and stabilized by using different β-CD/Alg capping methods, which induced changes in their morphology. The average sizes (10–30 nm) can be controlled by different stabilization agents. The effects of the capping methods were evaluated for the catalytic activity of the degradation reaction of methyl orange. The results demonstrated that the synthetic methods induced an obvious influence on the catalytic efficiency and recyclability. It was demonstrated that the mechanism of AgNPs catalysis relied on the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model of heterogeneous catalysis. Moreover, the AgNPs-loaded nanocomposites were studied for silver release in various media and the antibacterial activity against E. coli was evaluated for all samples.