Biosynthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles using Chenopodium album leaf extract

This paper reports a facile and rapid biosynthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles from Chenopodium album, an obnoxious weed. The aqueous leaf extract of the herb was used as mild reducing agent for silver and gold nanoparticles (SNPs and GNPs) synthesis from their salt solutions in single-pot process. Quasi-spherical shapes were observed for biosynthesized SNPs and GNPs within range of 10–30 nm, respectively. The UV–VIS spectra gave surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for SNPs and GNPs at 460 and 540 nm, respectively. Influence of leaf extract quantities, metal concentrations, contact time, reaction temperature and pH were evaluated to find their effects on NPs synthesis. The produced nanocrystals of silver and gold were analyzed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The stability of NPs was evaluated at different pH with zeta potentiometer without adding any stabilizing agents.