Supplementary information files for "Biosynthesis of AgCd metal nanocatalyst using green waste for the synergistic catalytic reduction of organic pollutants:

Supplementary files for article "Biosynthesis of AgCd metal nanocatalyst using green waste for the synergistic catalytic reduction of organic pollutants"<br><br>Silver-cadmium nanoparticles (AgCd NPs) were synthesized by adopting a green route using biomolecules from Grewia asiatica seeds (GAS) extract as capping and reducing agents that turned Ag⁺ and Cd ²⁺ ions into zerovalent metals. The synthesized MNCs were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The particle size of MNCs determined by SEM was 30-90 nm and the average crystallite size calculated using Debye Scherrer equation was 11.3 nm. The catalytic reduction of rhodamine-B (Rh-B) and malachite green (MG) dyes from their aqueous solutions with NaBH4 using the synthesized MNCs followed zero-order reaction kinetics. At the MNCs dosage of 6 mg/mL, the catalytic reduction of Rh-B (94 %) and MG (96 %) dyes was completed in 9 min and 4 min, respectively, which demonstrates the catalytic efficacy of AgCd MNCs. The experimental rate constant (kexp) was 0.12 mM·min-1 for Rh-B and 0.29 mM·min-1 for MG. As the dosage of MNCs increased from 2.2 to 6 mg·mL^-1 , a linear increase in the reduction percentage was observed, followed by its gradual plateauing from 6 to 10.1 mg·mL^-1 . The catalytic reduction of both dyes was favored at pH &gt; 7, due to suppressed release of hydrogen gas. The catalytic reduction of Rh-B was significantly accelerated at higher temperatures. Under optimized conditions the reduction percentage of Rh-B increased from 69% at 25°C to 92% at 40oC and the reaction time was reduced from 14 min to just 4 min. The synergistic effect of AgCd MNCs on the reduction of both dyes has been studied by comparing the catalytic performance of bimetallic NPs and individual metal NPs (Ag NPs or Cd NPs).<br><br>© The Author(s), CC BY 4.0