(256o) Elaeis Guineensis (Oil Palm) Kernel Extract Mediated Green Synthesis of Sub-10nm Gold Particles

The present work reports synthesis and characterization of stabilized gold nanoparticles via bioreduction of a gold precursor using Elaeis guineensis (oil palm) kernel extracts and without addition of any surfactant or capping reagent. The biosynthesized gold nanoparticles were characterized using UV-Vis, TEM and FTIR measurements. UV-Vis spectra of the gold sol indicate SPR peaks in the range of 530-550 nm. TEM image analysis indicates formation of predominantly spherical nanoparticles with mean diameter of 5.71 ± 1.13 nm. TEM diffraction analysis indicates orthorhombic and polycrystalline structures (2,0,0 and 1,1,0) of the synthesized nanoparticles.  FTIR analysis identified that polyphenolic O-H, C-H aromatic and C=O amide moieties in the phytochemicals are responsible for bioreduction of the precursor.  Effects of kernel to water mass ratio (1:5-1:20), concentration of gold precursor (0.074-0.294mM), temperature (298-373 K) and pH (3.2-9.3) of the reaction medium on morphology, size distribution, stability and growth kinetics of the gold nanoparticles have been investigated. This study proves the feasibility of using oil palm kernel extract for synthesis of stabilized sub-10 nm gold particles that are potentially cheap and biocompatible.