(BO/00384/21/7) Támogató: Bolyai János Kutatási Ösztöndíj
Due to the widespread applications of metal nanoparticles (NPs), green synthesis strategies
have recently advanced, e.g., methods that utilize extracts made from different plant
wastes. A particularly innovative approach to reducing large amounts of available
household/agricultural green wastes is their application in nanoparticle generation.
Regarding this, the aim of our work was to examine the possibility of upgrading green
nanoparticle syntheses from an innovative economic and environmental point of view,
namely by investigating the multiple recyclabilities of green tea (GT), coffee arabica
(CA), and Virginia creeper ( Parthenocissus quinquefolia ) (VC) waste residues for
iron nanoparticle (FeNPs) synthesis. The plant extracts obtained by each extraction
round were analyzed individually to determine the amount of main components anticipated
to be involved in NPs synthesis. The synthesized FeNPs were characterized by X-ray
powder diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The activity of the generated
FeNPs in degrading chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOC) and thus their future
applicability for remediation purposes were also assessed. We have found that VC and
especially GT residues could be reutilized in multiple extraction rounds; however,
only the first extract of CA was suitable for FeNPs’ generation. All of the obtained
FeNPs could degrade VOC with efficiencies GT1-Fe 91.0%, GT2-Fe 83.2%, GT3-Fe 68.5%;
CA1-Fe 76.2%; VC1-Fe 88.2%, VC2-Fe 79.7%, respectively, where the number (as in GT3)
marked the extraction round. These results indicate that the adequately selected green
waste material can be reutilized in multiple rounds for nanoparticle synthesis, thus
offering a clean, sustainable, straightforward alternative to chemical methods.