Facile preparation of lignosulfonate induced silver nanoparticles for high efficient removal of organic contaminants in wastewater

•NaLS acts as green reducer to synthesize silver nanoparticles via feasible one-step method.•Ag NPs can be well dispersed and stabilized by LS due to its metal chelation effects.•NaLS@AgNPs nanocomposites were fabricated and characterized to confirm the existence of Ag NPs.•The catalytic degradation efficiency of NaLS@AgNPs on MB can be as high as almost 100 %.•A novel system of NaLS@AgNPs enhanced H2O2 can achieve a highest MO removal efficiency of 90 %.