Green Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Nanoparticles from Tympanotonus fuscatus and Crassostrea gasar Shells

Abstract

: This study presents a comparative analysis of silver nanoparticles synthesized via green methods using two different plant extracts, identified as TF-NP and CG-NP. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and particle size distribution analysis were employed to evaluate the morphology and size of the nanoparticles. The SEM image of TF-NP revealed uniformly dispersed, spherical nanoparticles with minimal agglomeration and a measured average size predominantly ranging between 30 and 60 nm. In contrast, CG-NP exhibited irregular, flake-like structures with significant aggregation, and particle sizes ranging widely from 0.55 µm to over 17 µm, with the majority falling above the nanoscale threshold. Histogram analysis further confirmed that 60% of TF-NP particles were below 60 nm, while CG-NP had less than 10% of particles within the nanoscale range. The findings indicate that the TF-NP synthesis process resulted in nanoparticles that align more closely with international nanoparticle standards, due to better control of synthesis parameters and the presence of more effective phytochemicals in the plant extract. In contrast, CG-NP synthesis demonstrated limited efficiency and poor size control. The study concludes that the choice of plant extract significantly influences the quality of green-synthesized nanoparticles, and it recommends further optimization of the synthesis protocol for CG-NP to improve particle uniformity and reduce agglomeration.