Green synthesis and stability evaluation of Ag nanoparticles using bamboo hemicellulose

The unique physico-chemical properties of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have opened up the opportunity for their use in many promising physico-chemical and biomedical applications. In this study, an economically feasible approach to green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) is described using hemicellulose from bamboo. Simultaneously, glucose was used as the reducing agent, and distilled water was used as the reaction medium. UV-vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the surface plasmon behavior, morphology, and particle size of the Ag NPs. Hemicellulose alone could not reduce Ag⁺ to Ag⁰. The formation rate of the nanoparticles was accelerated when high amounts of glucose were added. Small particle sizes were obtained when high concentrations of hemicellulose were used. The stability of the Ag NPs synthesized using different concentrations of hemicellulose from 0.5 mg/mL to 8.0 mg/mL was also evaluated. Higher initial hemicellulose concentrations produced more stable Ag NPs. The average particle sizes of the NPs after storing for 160 days at 4 °C were still smaller than 10 nm when the initial hemicellulose concentrations were 6.0 and 8.0 mg/mL.