Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles (AgNPs) Using Gandaria Leaf Water Extract (Bouea macrophylla G.) and Its Application in the Photodegradation of Rhodamine B

The research aims to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using aqueous extract of gandaria leaves (Bouea macrophylla G.) as a bioreducing agent for the reduction of Ag+ ions to Ag0 and as a catalyst in the photodegradation process of Rhodamine B. The formation of AgNPs can be confirmed by the observable color change analyzed using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer, with the optimal nanoparticle synthesis obtained at a silver nitrate concentration of 1.5 mM.Using gandaria leaf extract as the bioreducer for AgNPs, the optimum synthesis time was achieved on the fifth day (H5), both in the absence and presence of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA).AgNPs characterization were carried out using Particle Size Analyzer (PSA) revealed the average diameters of 64.9 nm (without PVA) and 108.2 nm (with PVA).Photodegradation experiments demonstrated that the highest degradation efficiency of Rhodamine B and AgNPs occurred at the fifth hour, yielding degradation percentages of 82.63% (without PVA) and 82.08% (with PVA).These findings indicate that gandaria leaf extract-mediated AgNPs exhibit significant catalytic activity in the degradation of Rhodamine B