Green synthesis of SiO2 nanoparticles from Rhus coriaria L. extract: Comparison with chemically synthesized SiO2 nanoparticles

Abstract

The usage of the green synthesis method to produce nanoparticles (NPs) has received great acceptance among the scientific community in recent years. This, perhaps, is owing to its eco-friendliness and the utilization of non-toxic materials during the synthesizing process. The green synthesis approach also supplies a reducing and a capping agent, which increases the stability of the NPs through the available phytochemicals in the plant extractions. The present study describes a green synthesis method to produce nano-silica (SiO2) NPs utilizing Rhus coriaria L. extract and sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3.5H2O) under reflux conditions. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is added to the mixture to control the pH of the solution. Then, the obtained NPs have been compared with the chemically synthesized SiO2 NPs. The structure, thermal, and morphological properties of the SiO2 NPs, both green synthesized and chemically synthesized, were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). Also, the elemental compassion distribution was studied by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). In addition, the zeta potential, dynamic light scatter (DLS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to study the stability, thermal properties, and surface area of the SiO2 NPs. The overall results revealed that the green synthesis of SiO2 NPs outperforms chemically synthesized SiO2 NPs. This is expected since the green synthesis method provides higher stability, enhanced thermal properties, and a high surface area through the available phytochemicals in the Rhus coriaria L. extract.