Complete Green Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles using Laser Ablation in Deionized Water Containing Chitosan and Starch

Abstract

In this paper we report our results on the green synthesis of nontoxic, stable, and small size gold nanoparticle suspensions. We used the single and two-beam laser to ablate a gold target submerged in deionized water containing chitosan or starch as the stabilizing agent. Since both chitosan and starch are biodegradable and biocompatible, use of these natural polymers for gold nanoparticle protection and stabilization does not introduce any environmental toxicity or biological hazards. Our results show that ablating in neat deionized water, the ablated particles were not stable, they agglomerated and connected together in random structures. When gold was ablated in dw containing either chitosan or starch, the resulting suspension became stable with smaller, isolated, and well dispersed particles. The particles ablated by the single-beam ablation approach were much larger in size and side distribution compared with those produced using the two-beam ablation approach.