Elsevier

Materials Letters

Volume 144, 1 April 2015, Pages 165-167
Materials Letters

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using eucalyptus leaf extract

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2015.01.004Get rights and content

Highlights

  • Silver nanoparticles were synthesized using eucalyptus leaf extract.

  • The method is simple, low cost, nontoxic and eco-friendly.

  • Synthesized Ag-NPs are spherical, the mean crystallite size of which was about 23 nm.

Abstract

Silver nanoparticles(Ag-NPs) are synthetized successfully by using leaf extract of eucalyptus. The Ag-NPs obtained are characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) spectrometer, field emission transmission electron microscopy (FE-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). FE-TEM analysis revealed the shape of those Ag-NPs being spherical morphologies, with the size range of 4–60 nm. FTIR spectrum assumed the polyphenols and proteins act as reducing and stabilizing agents in the synthesis of Ag-NPs.

Introduction

In recent years, Ag-NPs have received considerable attention due to their unique properties such as adjustable surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and potential applications in photonics, biomedical science, catalytic activity and water purification [1], [2]. Though quantities of chemical and physical methods have been applied to the synthesis of Ag-NPs, lots of the reactants or materials used in these reactions are toxic or potentially hazardous. Therefore, there is an urgent need for nontoxic and eco-friendly Ag-NPs synthesis technology. Synthetic methods based on naturally occurring biomaterials, do not only provide an alternative, friendly means of obtaining these NPs, but also have a well-defined size and morphology.

Microbes [3] and plants [4] have been reported to bioreduce metal ions to Ag, Au and Pd NPs today. Among these biological processes, phytosynthesis of NPs should be more advantageous for being easily accessible and operated, compared with the elaborate and time-consuming microbial synthesis [5]. There are some plants have achieved success in the synthesis of mental NPs, such as coriander [6], tribulus terrestris [7], menthol [8], carob [9], olive [10] and boerhaavia diffusa [11]. What is more, on the basis of the available literature, plant wastes can be utilized for the synthesis of NPs, too [12]. Commonly, many plant wastes are not taken the utmost use, for instance, the leaves and barks of the eucalyptus widely planted in southern China [13] for making pulpwood, are abandoned. Nevertheless, eucalyptus leaves (ELs) contain a wide range of active components and the research is still on the hunt for their potential uses as they are rich in polyphenols, including flavonoids and tannic acids, organic acids and volatile oils [14]. In this study, a novel approach for synthesis of Ag-NPs was developed using ELs extract, which is a simple, economical and environmentally benign method.

Section snippets

Experimental

Materials and chemicals: In this study, three different species of eucalyptus respectively, which are eucalyptus urophylla (EU), eucalyptus citriodora (EC) and eucalyptus robusta (ER) are used as the biomass materials. These ELs were collected on the campus of Guangxi University in Nanning, China. After being washed thoroughly, ELs were dried in 40 °C, then smashed finely and the powder screened through 100-mesh sieve, finally stored for late use. Silver nitrate (AgNO3) was used as the source of

Results and discussion

The formation of Ag-NPs is relevant to the coherent oscillation of SPR at the surface of NPs [15]. The diluted sample in 1-cm quartz cuvettes was scanned with a UV–vis spectrometer (Shimadzu UV2550) in the wavelength region between 190 and 700 nm. Fig. 1A shows the UV–vis absorption spectra of the Ag-NPs synthetized with three different leaf extracts obtained from EU, EC and ER, respectively. It can be seen that the three peaks are at 447, 445 and 482 nm. Generally, the wavelength of Ag-NPs

Conclusion

Eucalyptus leaves, which are economical, locally obtainable, abundant and eco-friendly were found to be a good source for the synthesis of Ag-NPs. Furthermore, the green synthesis can obtain smaller particle size compared with other traditional methods. The work for Ag-NPs synthesis may provide potential applications in catalyst development, water purification and also the field of medicine.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge financial support provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51168001) and the Special Fund from the Central Government of China for Heavy Metal Pollution Prevention (No. 20140944).

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