Using Ginger Extract for Synthesis of Metallic Nanoparticles and their Applications in Water Treatment

Abstract

The chemical and physical methods for nanoparticle production are relatively expensive and complicated, let alone their toxicity for the ecosystem. On the contrary, using ginger to reduce metal ions into nanoparticles is a more easier and rapid technique, as ginger contains reducing agents; e.g., alkaloids, and phenolic compounds. We synthesized Silver, Copper and Nickel nanoparticles using ginger extract and characterized them by Transmission Electron micrograph, X-ray diffraction, and UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Different concentrations of Silver, Copper and Nickel nanoparticles (100, 200, 300, 400,500 mg/ml) were tested on some chemicals and the microbial content of two water samples [(Brackish lake (Mariout), El Kilo 21 lake)] Alexandria. We concluded that the addition of 100 μl of copper, 50 μl of silver, and 150 μl of Nickel nanoparticles / 50 ml of the water sample removed the total content of nitrate and phosphate efficiently, whereas 30 μl of copper, 30 μl of silver and 75 μl of Nickel nanoparticle / 50 ml of the water sample totally inhibited bacterial contamination. This demonstrates that the preparation of Silver, Copper and Nickel nanoparticles using ginger extract is a safe, easy and economic technique, in addition to being effective in water decontamination and environmental applications.

Keywords

• ginger
• nanoparticles
• water treatment
• xrd
• tem