Aminopolycarboxylic acids and alginate composite-mediated green synthesis of Au and Ag nanoparticles

Nanosized particles of gold and silver were produced in aqueous solution as well as in calcium alginate gel beads by simple addition of aminopolycarboxylic acids (APCAs) and alginate. It is shown that the composite of alginate and APCAs served as a reductant and stabilizer. The influence of experimental parameters on the formation of nanoparticles was investigated via UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and selected area electron diffraction analyses. Further, using sorption experiments it has been demonstrated that the loading of gold nanoparticles on calcium alginate beads is much more as compared to that of Ag nanoparticles. The as-prepared metal sols and solid-phase biopolymer-based nanoparticles show excellent stability.