Synthesis and Characterization of Nanoparticles by Using Mulberry (Morus alba L.), Figs (Ficus carica L.) and Eucalyptus (Camaldulensis L.) Leaves’ Extracts in Aqueous Medium

Plants are rich in phytoconstituent biomolecules, which served as a good source of medicine and for many applications. More recently, they have been employed in synthesizing metal/metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) due to their capping and reducing properties. The most commonly used metals are silver (Ag) and copper (Cu). This green-synthesis approach is environmentally friendly and allows the production of the desired NPs in different sizes and shapes by manipulating parameters, during the synthesis process. In the present work, we report the green synthesis of copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) and silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs), using by mulberry (Morus al- ba L.), figs (Ficus carica L.) and eucalyptus (Camaldulensis L.) leaves’ extracts without using any toxic chemicals, where the extracts of the studied plants’ leaves contributed as factors reducing agent as well as a stabilizing agent in green-nanotechnology process. The synthesized nanoparticles are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy techniques. The SEM depicts the morphology and size of the synthesized nanoparticles, while the elemental analysis and the relative abundance of each element in the nanoparticles are revealed through the EDX spectra, since EDX spectra confirm the formation of Ag-NPs and Cu-NPs. The results show that the size of Cu-NPs is smaller than that of Ag-NPs for all studied samples. This research gives a clear efficacy and reality of the use of low-cost and environmentally benign plant extracts as a main precursor in the synthesis of NPs.