Saraca indica bark extract mediated green synthesis of polyshaped gold nanoparticles and its application in catalytic reduction

The bark extract of the traditional ayurvedic medicinal plant Saraca indica containing redox active polyphenolic compounds has been utilized for the one-step synthesis of gold nanoparticles at room temperature. The polyphenolic compounds acted as the reducing agent as well as the stabilizing agent without any additional capping agent. The synthesis of the gold nanoparticles of 15–23 nm size was complete in several minutes and no photo irradiation or heat treatment was necessary. Surface plasmon resonance, HRTEM, AFM, X-ray diffraction, and FTIR studies have been carried out to characterize the nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles synthesized were of triangular, tetragonal, pentagonal, hexagonal, and spherical shapes. The synthesized gold nanoparticles have been used as a catalyst for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol at room temperature and the kinetics of the reduction reaction has been studied spectrophotometrically.