One step synthesis of silver nanowires using fructose as a reducing agent and its antibacterial and antioxidant analysis

Silver nanowires were synthesised using hydrothermal method by reducing silver nitrate (AgNO3) using fructose in the presence of poly-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The parameters such as the effect of process temperature, AgNO3 molarity, PVP and fructose (C6H12O6) concentration influencing the synthesis of silver nanowires (Ag NWs) were investigated. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed that ultra-long, uniform and thin silver nanowires were obtained under optimized conditions; 0.02 M AgNO3, 0.016 g ml−1 of fructose, 0.16 g ml−1 of PVP at 160 °C within 22 h. The dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis revealed that the silver nanowires obtained have an average diameter of 77 nm possessing high level of crystallinity with face centered cubic (fcc) phase that is evident from the x-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns peaked at (111), (200), (220), (311) and (222) planes. FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) results suggested that there is adsorption of PVP molecules on the silver atoms. Ag NWs exhibited better antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and high antioxidant activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenger. This work gives a green approach to the hydrothermal synthesis of Ag NWs using fructose with a promising antibacterial and antioxidant properties.