Fungi-templated silver nanoparticle composite: synthesis, characterization, and its applications

Abstract

The self-assembly of nanoparticles on living bio-templates is a promising synthetic methodology adopted for synthesizing nano/microstructures with high efficiency. Therefore, the method of bio-templating offers various advantages in controlling the geometries of nano/microstructures, thereby increasing the efficiency of the synthesized material towards various functional applications. Herein, we utilized a filamentous fungus (Sclerotium rolfsii) as a soft bio-template to generate silver nanoparticle (AgNP) microtubules adhering to the fungal hyphae. The resulting composite combines the unique properties of silver nanoparticles with the biological activity of the fungi. The 3D fungal hyphae–silver nanoparticle (FH-AgNP) composite was characterized using SEM, elemental analysis, and the X-ray diffraction technique. Additionally, to highlight the functional application of the synthesized composite, dye degradation studies of methylene blue under visible light was effectuated, and a percentage degradation of 67.86% was obtained within 60 min, which highlights the potent catalytic activity of FH-AgNPs in dye degradation. Further, the antibacterial study of the composite was carried out against the bacterium Escherichia coli, and it was found that 200 µg of the composite exhibited maximum antibacterial properties against Gram positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria. Overall, fungi-templated silver nanoparticle composites are a promising area of research due to their combination of biological activity and unique physical and chemical properties.