News

  1. Home
  2. About
13 May 2015

Green synthesis of metal nanoparticles

Green synthesis of metal nanoparticles

A research team at the University of Aveiro (UA), composed from CICECO, QOPNA and TEMA researchers uncovered some essential aspects of the mechanism of the synthesis of metal nanoparticles using plant extracts as reducing and stabilizing agents. The new methodology can be used with a wide variety of plant extracts, has low production cost and allows recovery of the waste from food processing and agro-forestry industry.

Therefore, researchers ensure that the use of extracts of plants or biomass residues is an alternative to conventional strategies for the synthesis of nanoparticles which involve hazardous reagents that represent high risks to the environment and to human health.

"The chemical methods currently used for the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles in colloidal solutions, which allow precise control of size and morphology, are usually based on the use of reducing agents such as hydrazine, sodium borohydride or N, N-dimethylformamide, typically associated with high risks to the environment and to human health, "says Carmen Freire, a researcher at the CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials. This problem, says the coordinator of the study, "is particularly relevant when we think of industrial production in which are used high amounts of these toxic substances."

In the case of using plant extracts or agroforestry residues and food processing industry, Carmen Freire points, "these risks do not exist since these extracts do not pose any environmental risk." Another major advantage found is that "the method can be easily introduced in the industry which produces these nanoparticles because it involves no special equipment and it is quite simple".

The area of nanotechnology, including the development and production of nanoparticles with specific sizes and morphologies, is currently one of the areas of major importance due to the numerous applications of such materials as sensors, pigments, smart textiles, fuel cells, functional packaging controlled release of drugs, antimicrobial materials, biomarkers, among many others.

The conclusions reached by the research work, which in addition to Carmen Freire involved the work of the researchers Ricardo Pinto (CICECO), Sónia Santos (CICECO), Paula Marques (TEMA), Sílvia Rocha (QOPNA), Carlos Pascoal Neto (CICECO) e Armando Silvestre (CICECO), can be extrapolated to a wide range of natural extracts. In this perspective, the team believes, these results can be a driving force for the optimization of green synthesis of metal nanoparticles in order to obtain an increasingly effective control of their properties.

Share this Article:

Related Articles

Researchers

Groups

G4 - Renewable Materials and Circular Economy

We use cookies for marketing activities and to offer you a better experience. By clicking “Accept Cookies” you agree with our cookie policy. Read about how we use cookies by clicking "Privacy and Cookie Policy".


Privacy and Cookie Policy

Personal data

CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials respects your privacy, ensuring confidentiality of personal data you share with the institution through this way, not collecting any personal information about you without your consent, under the terms required by General Data Protection Regulations (RGPD).

The data collected in forms are intended exclusively for processing user requests and will not be used for any other purpose, always safeguarding their confidentiality, under the terms of the protection conferred by the aforementioned regulation.

The collection and processing of data is the responsibility of CICECO and its storage is properly protected, only authorized CICECO employees can access the information within the scope of their functions, always being clear in the respective collection forms the purposes for which they are intended. The remaining issues to be considered in this matter will be handled by the University of Aveiro in accordance with the regime established by the GDPR.

Cookies policy

Cookies are small files with alphanumeric information that are stored on your computer's hard drive by your browser and are intended to improve the user experience and enhance website navigation.

Collection and use of technical information

The cookies used on CICECO are anonymous, and no information about our users that allows their personal identification is stored in them.

The technical information recorded consists of:

  • iP (Internet Protocol) address of the visitor;
  • the type of internet browser used by the website visitor and the respective operating system used;
  • the date and time of the consultation;
  • the pages visited on the site and the documents downloaded
  • The technical information collected is used for statistical purposes only.

Cookies used

Session cookies

These cookies are used to record user preferences, such as the language in which websites are displayed or to maintain authenticated user sessions, and are automatically deleted when the browser is closed.

Persistent cookies

These cookies store information that is needed between sessions. For example, a persistent cookie is set to record that you have been made aware of the cookie policy so that the message regarding this policy is not shown again the next time you visit the website. This cookie remains on the computer until it reaches its expiry date or is deleted by the user.

Data protection

The present privacy policy covers the Information System of the University of Aveiro (SIUA), governed by the General Data Protection Regulations (RGPD) Regulation (EU) No. 2016/679, of April 27th, 2016.

Data Protection Officer

The University of Aveiro has a Data Protection Officer (DPO), who ensures compliance of the processing of personal data with the legislation in force, and is available through the following email address epd@ua.pt.

Close