Description
Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are a form of nanotechnology that retain size-dependent physical, chemical, and biological characteristics in comparison to their macroscopic source material, with useful applications in medicine, electronics, and environmental management through exploitation of their surface area and present active sites. As traditional methods of AuNP synthesis incur high energy demands and environmental risks from the use of hazardous reagents, identification of green synthesis methods retains significant interest. This study presents the novel synthesis of AuNPs via a green synthesis method, applying aqueous solutions of watermelon rind and fruit extracts, with subsequent UV-Vis spectroscopic characterization. Synthesized AuNPs typically displayed absorbance in the 520-540 nm range, characteristic of nanoparticles 12-41 nm in diameter, while some variance, specifically displayed by AuNPs synthesized using rind-sourced extracts, may indicate variance in size and shape. Variation in volumetric ratio of experimental reagents also highlighted manipulation of such ratios as a possible useful tool in controlling aggregation and subsequent size of colloidal gold particles. While this study affirms the efficacy of the synthesis method, further determination of both the exact size and shape of nanoparticles utilizing TEM (transmission electron microscope) imaging as well as characterization of watermelon extracts by way of FT-IR (Fourier-transform infrared) spectroscopy to identify specific chemical agents responsible for formation of AuNPs may be valuable.