Abstract
The present research is focused on the synthesis of copper–silver bimetallic nanoparticles using the extracts from the date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera) leaves. The effect of operational parameters such as type of solvent, pH of the plant extract, salt concentration, and the solution temperature on the particle size and yield of the resultant nanoparticles is reported for the first time. Water–ethanol mixture of 1:1 (v/v) ratio was found to be the best solvent for the extraction of phenolic compounds from the leaves. The novelty of this work lies in the fact that the addition of capping reagent extracted by the green synthesis process from aqueous Sidr leaves reduced the average particle size of the nanoparticles to 26 nm. The characterizations of the copper–silver bimetallic nanoparticles were performed using particle size analyzer, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Thus, the synthesis of bimetallic copper–silver nanoparticle using palm leaves extract would provide the associated process chemistry. Produced bimetallic nanoparticles were used to establish their catalytic activity to degrade the methylene blue dye from aqueous solution. Well diffusion studies using the as-produced nanoparticles on Bacillus subtilis (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) exhibited the antibacterial ability of the copper–silver bimetallic nanoparticles. The potential catalytic activity for dye degradation and antibacterial assay using nanoparticles highlights the efficacy of the palm leaves and its components.
Graphic abstract
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abu-Sharkh BF, Hamid H (2004) Degradation study of date palm fibre/polypropylene composites in natural and artificial weathering: mechanical and thermal analysis. Polym Degrad Stab 85:967–973
Begum A, Mukherjee A, Kumar S (2017) A novel green synthesis of silver nanoparticles and their catalytic action in reduction of methylene blue dye. Sustain Environ Res 27:245–250
Boothe BW, Byun H, Kim J-H (2014) Silver-gold bimetallic nanoparticles and their applications as optical materials. J Nanosci Nanotechnol 14:1563–1577
Dhoondia ZH, Chakraborty H (2012) Lactobacillus mediated synthesis of silver oxide nanoparticles. Nanomater Nanotechnol 2:1–7
Do QD, Angkawijaya AE, Tran-Nguyen PL, Huynh LH, Soetaredjo FE, Ismadji S, Ju YH (2014) Effect of extraction solvent on total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of Limnophila aromatic. J Food Drug Anal 22:296–302
Galhardo TS, Gonçalves M, Mandelli D, Carvalho WA (2018) Glycerol valorization by base-free oxidation with air using platinum-nickel nanoparticles supported on activated carbon as catalyst prepared by a simple microwave polyol method. Clean Technol Environ Policy 20:2075–2088
Ghosh SK, Mandal M, Kundu S, Nath S, Pal T (2004) Bimetallic Pt-Ni nanoparticles can catalyze reduction of aromatic nitro compounds by sodium borohydride in aqueous solution. Appl Catal A Gen 268:61–66
Gupta N, Singh HP, Sharma RK (2011) Metal nanoparticles with high catalytic activity in degradation of methyl orange: an electron relay effect. J Mol Catal A Chem 335:248–252
Halawani E (2017) Rapid biosynthesis method and characterization of silver nanoparticles using Zizyphus spina christi leaf extract and their antibacterial efficacy in therapeutic application. J Biomater Nanobiotechnol 8:22–35
Ibrahim HMM (2015) Green synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticles using banana peel extract and their antimicrobial activity against representative microorganisms. J Radiat Res Appl Sci 8:296–302
Karthik R, Muthezhilan R, Hussain AJ, Ramalingam K, Rekha V (2016) Effective removal of methylene blue dye from water using three different low-cost adsorbents. Desalt Water Treat 57:1–6
Kumar M, Deka S (2014) Multiply twinned AgNi alloy nanoparticles as highly active catalyst for multiple reduction and degradation reactions. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 6:16071–16081
Li L, Niu Z, Cai S, Zhi Y, Li H, Rong H, Liu L, He W, Li Y (2013) A PdAg bimetallic nanocatalyst for selective reductive amination of nitroarenes. Chem Commun 49:6843–6845
Li S, Wei T, Tang M, Chai F, Qu F, Wang C (2018) Facile synthesis of bimetallic Ag-Cu nanoparticles for colorimetric detection of mercury ion and catalysis. Sens Actuators B 255:1471–1481
Makarov VV, Love AJ, Sinitsyna OV, Makarova SS, Yaminsky IV, Taliansky ME, Kalinina NO (2014) Green nanotechnologies: synthesis of metal nanoparticles using plants. Acta Nat 6:35–44
Mittal AK, Chisti Y, Banerjee UC (2013) Synthesis of metallic nanoparticles using plant extracts. Biotechnol Adv 31:346–356
Mohamad NAN, Jai J, Arham NA, Hadi A (2013) A short review on the synthesis of bimetallic nanoparticles using plant extract. In: IEEE international conference on control system, computing and engineering, Penang, Malaysia, pp 334–339
Naika HR, Lingaraju K, Manjunath K, Kumar D, Nagaraju G, Suresh D, Nagabhushana H (2015) Green synthesis of CuO nanoparticles using Gloriosa superba L. extract and their antibacterial activity. J Taibah Univ Sci 9:7–12
Nesalin JAJ, Gowthamarajan K, Somashekhara CN (2009) Formulation and evaluation of nanoparticles containing flutamide. Int J ChemTech Res 1:1331–1334
Pal P, Banat F (2015) Removal of contaminants from industrial lean amine solvent using polyacrylamide hydrogels optimized by response surface methodology. Adsorpt Sci Technol 33:9–24
Park J, Joo J, Kwon S, Jang Y, Hyeon T (2007) Synthesis of monodisperse spherical nanocrystals. Angew Chem Int Ed 46:4630–4660
Patra JK, Baek K (2014) Green nanobiotechnology: factors affecting synthesis and characterization techniques. J Nanomater 2014:1–12
Phan CM, Nguyen HM (2017) Role of capping agent in wet synthesis of nanoparticles. J Phys Chem A 121:3213–3219
Rosbero TMS, Camacho DH (2017) Green preparation and characterization of tentacle-like silver/copper nanoparticles for catalytic degradation of toxic chlorpyrifos in water. J Environ Chem Eng 5:2524–2532
Sankar R, Manikandan P, Malarvizhi V, Shivashangari KS, Ravikumar V (2014) Green synthesis of colloidal copper oxide nanoparticles using Carica papaya and its application in photocatalytic dye degradation. Spectrochim Acta Mol Biomol Spectrosc 121:746–750
Satishkumar M, Sneha K, Won SW, Cho CW, Kim S, Yun YS (2009) Cinnamon zeylanicum bark extract and powder mediated green synthesis of nano-crystalline silver particles and its bactericidal activity. Colloids Surf B Biointerfaces 73:332–338
Sinitsyna OV, Taliansky M, Yaminsky IV, Kalinina NO (2014) Green nanotechnologies: synthesis of metal nanoparticles using plants. Acta Nat 6:35–44
Sivarajasekar N, Prakashmaran J, Naushad M, Farhan BZA, Poornima S, Sivapriya S, Gayathri V, Pradeepika T, Raghu V, Sivamani S, Dharaskar S, Dhakal N (2019) Recent updates on heavy metal remediation using date stones (Phoenix dactylifera L.)—date fruit processing industry waste. Sustain Agric Rev 34:193–206
Sondi I, Salopek-Sondi B (2004) Silver nanoparticles as antimicrobial agent: a case study on E. coli as a model for Gram-negative bacteria. J Colloid Interface Sci 275:177–182
Su R, Tiruvalam R, He Q, Dimitratos N, Kesavan L, Hammond C, Lopez-Sanchez JA, Bechstein R, Kiely CJ, Hutchings GJ, Besenbacher F (2012) Promotion of phenol photodecomposition over TiO2 using au, pd and Au-Pd nanoparticles. ACS Nano 6:6284–6292
Suárez-Cerda J, Espinoza-Gómez H, Alonso-Núñez G, Rivero I, Gochi-Ponce Y, Flores-López L (2017) A green synthesis of copper nanoparticles using native cyclodextrins as stabilizing agents. J Saudi Chem Soc 21:341–348
Tan KS, Cheong KY (2013) Advances of Ag, Cu, and Ag-Cu alloy nanoparticles synthesized via chemical reduction route. J Nanopart Res 15:1–29
Tippayawat P, Phromviyo N, Boueroy P, Chompoosor A (2016) Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles in aloe vera plant extract prepared by a hydrothermal method and their synergistic antibacterial activity. PeerJ 4:e2589
Verma AD, Pal S, Verma P, Srivastava V, Mandal RK, Sinha I (2017) Ag-Cu bimetallic nanocatalysts for p-nitrophenol reduction using a green hydrogen source. J Environ Chem Eng 5:6148–6155
Vijayakumar M, Priya K, Nancy FT, Noorlidah A, Ahmed ABA (2013) Biosynthesis, characterisation and anti-bacterial effect of plant-mediated silver nanoparticles using Artemisia nilagirica. Ind Crop Prod 41:235–240
Wang H, Yi C, Tian L, Wang W, Fang J, Zhao J, Shen W (2012) Ag-Cu bimetallic nanoparticles prepared by microemulsion method as catalyst for epoxidation of styrene. J Nanomater 2012:1–8
Wang Y, Niu C, Zhu Y (2019) Copper-silver bimetallic nanowire arrays for electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide. Nanomaters 9:1–10
Wu W, Lei M, Yang S, Zhou L, Liu L, Xiao X, Jiang C, Roy VAL (2015) A one-pot route to the synthesis of alloyed Cu/Ag bimetallic nanoparticles with different mass ratios for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol. J Mater Chem A 3:3450–3455
Zaleska-Medynska A, Marchelek M, Diak M, Grabowska E (2016) Noble metal-based bimetallic nanoparticles: the effect of the structure on the optical, catalytic and photocatalytic properties. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 229:80–107
Zhan F, Bian T, Zhao W, Zhang H, Jin M, Yang D (2014) Facile synthesis of Pd-Pt alloy concave nanocubes with high-index facets as electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation. CrystEngComm 16:2411–2416
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to Abeer Alnahdi, Amna Alhosani, Ayesha Almheiri, Haleema Saleem, and R. Swathy for their help in experimental work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Al-Haddad, J., Alzaabi, F., Pal, P. et al. Green synthesis of bimetallic copper–silver nanoparticles and their application in catalytic and antibacterial activities. Clean Techn Environ Policy 22, 269–277 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-019-01765-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-019-01765-2