Insights into the role of ionic surfactants on the morphology of gold and gold@silver nanoparticles

Abstract

Cyanidin-3, 5-di-O-glycoside (anthocyanin) was extracted from the red rose flower petals in an aqueous media. Anthocyanin was used as reductant to the preparation of gold nanoparticles with cationic and anionic surfactants. UV–visible absorption spectroscope, transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope were employed to determine absorption bands of anthocyanin, surface Plasmon resonance (SPR) band, and morphology of the gold and gold@silver nanoparticles. Anthocyanin exhibited two absorption peaks at 284 and 518 nm, and one shoulder at 328 nm in the UV–visible spectrum. The intensity of these peaks decreases with time after the addition of HAuCl4. The color and the position of SPR band of gold nanoparticles depend on the concentration of gold salt with and without cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The anionic and cationic head groups of SDS and CTAB micelles have significant impact of the morphology of gold nanoparticles. Seedless co-reduction method was used for the synthesis of gold@silver nanoparticles. TEM images clearly indicate the formation of bimetallic gold@silver core-shell nanoparticles. The antioxidant power of AuNPs and gold@silver nanoparticles were tested in terms of the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity as a function of different concentrations of nanoparticles.