Ultrasmall copper nanoparticles synthesized with a plant tea reducing agent

Aaron D. Brumbaugh, Katelyn A. Cohen, Sarah K. St. Angelo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Ultrasmall copper nanoparticles were synthesized using lemongrass tea as a green reducing agent. The one-pot, aqueous, room-temperature reaction produces nanoparticles with diameters of 2.90 ± 0.64 nm. UV-vis spectroscopy shows the ultrasmall nanoparticles are nonplasmonic. FTIR spectroscopy indicates that oxygen-containing functional groups in the lemongrass tea are present in the nanoparticle reaction mixture. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) was used to confirm that the nanoparticles are Cu, as indicated by the lattice spacing measurements for the (111), (200), and (220) lattice planes of Cu. The nanoparticles are transferrable from water to hexane with octadecanethiol (ODT) as a phase transfer agent. X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) conducted during TEM analysis confirms the presence of copper in the nanoparticle samples and indicates that the phase-transferred nanoparticles have relatively less material associated with lemongrass tea than the as-synthesized sol.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1933-1939
Number of pages7
JournalACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering
Volume2
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 4 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Copper nanoparticles
  • EDS
  • Green nanoparticle synthesis
  • HR-TEM
  • Ultrasmall nanoparticles

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • General Chemical Engineering
  • Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

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