Author: H. Usha, D. Santhi Priya, J. Chandrasekhar Rao, P. Jayarangarao, M. Sankara Rao, Preetha Bhadra and A. Satheesh

DOI: http://doi.org/10.31788/RJC.2026.1939651

In the present study, cellulose/silver nanocomposites (Cell/ITLL Ag NCs) were successfully synthesized via a greenand sustainable approach using Ipomoea tridentata leaf extract as both reducing and stabilizing agent. The formationand structural properties of the nanocomposites were confirmed through FTIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, and UV–Visanalyses, which revealed the presence of well-dispersed silver nanoparticles. Among the synthesized samples, thenanocomposite prepared with 50 mM AgNO3 exhibited uniformly distributed nanoparticles with an average sizeof 32.65 nm. The prepared nanocomposites demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity against both Gram-negative(Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis) bacteria, with inhibition zones increasing proportionally with AgNO3 concentration. Furthermore, the nanocompositesshowed excellent photocatalytic performance in the degradation of methyl red dye, achieving up to 85%degradationefficiency using 100 mg of catalyst. These findings highlight the potential of the synthesized nanocomposites aseffective multifunctional materials for environmental remediation and biomedical applications.

Keywords: Ipomoea tridentata (L.), Cellulose/Silver, Methyl Red, Photocatalytic Degradation,PseudomonasAeruginosa.