Catalytic degradation of imidacloprid using L-serine capped nickel nanoparticles

The present study describes a simple and efficient approach for the synthesis of pure metallic nickel nanoparticle (Ser-Ni NPs) in aqueous phase using L-serine as a capping agent. The as-synthesized Ni NPs were elaborately studied for optical, morphological, compositional and structural characteristics using UV-Visible Spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The as-synthesised Ser-Ni NPs were noted to be fine, spherical, uniformly distributed with average size of 10 +/- 2.5 nm. In, addition they were determined to extremely air durable with life time of more than one month. The as-synthesized Ser-Ni NPs were known to exhibited excellent potential for heterogeneous catalytic reductive degradation of imidacloprid pesticide (IM) in aqueous solution with corresponding rate constant of 0.103 s(-1). Furthermore, Ser-Ni NPs catalyst exhibited excellent recyclability with negligible catalytic poisoning suggesting its high capability for reusability.