Abstract
The paper reports the pH controlled synthesis of silver nanoparticles using honey as reducing and stabilizing agents. By adjusting the pH of the aqueous solution containing metal ions and honey, nanoparticles of various size could be obtained at room temperature. The nanoparticles were characterized by UV–visible, high-resolution TEM, XRD and FTIR measurements. The colloid obtained at a pH of 8.5 is found to consist of monodispersed and nearly spherical silver nanoparticles of size ∼4
nm which is a significant advancement in biosynthesis. The high crystallinity with fcc phase is evidenced by clear lattice fringes in the high-resolution TEM image and peaks in the XRD pattern corresponding to (1
1
1), (2
0
0), (2
2
0), (3
1
1) and (2
2
2) planes. FTIR spectrum indicates that the nanoparticles are bound to protein through the carboxylate ion group.