Review on bioengineering of metal sulphide nanoparticles using plant extracts

Nanoparticles have found a special place in research due to their various properties. They have been studied and investigated in most applications such as: Agriculture, Medical, Catalysis, electronics to name a few. Different Methods such as Chemical synthesis, which is divided into bottom up and top-down approaches, and physical Synthesis have been employed to yield nanomaterials with different structural and optical properties. Currently a new method has been developed as a green synthesis method of nanomaterials. Green synthesis is the method in which fewer toxic chemicals are employed; Water is used as a universal solvent and the synthesis is based on natural systems. Green synthesis has been used in the last decade to synthesize mostly metallic and metal Oxides nanoparticles however not much has been done on the green synthesis of metal sulphides nanoparticles. This review looks at what has been done in the green synthesis of metal sulphides such as Zinc, Iron, Copper, Silver, Lead, and Cadmium sulphides, in attempt to highlight what still needs to be done. This paper also look at the potential applications of these green synthesized metal sulfides. Synthesis of metal sulphide nanomaterials using plant extracts. • Different plants, from seeds to leaves has been used to synthesize metal sulphides. • The review covers the metal and sulphur sources used in the literature in green synthesis of metal sulphides. • Few metals have been used to synthesize metal sulphide using this method. • Reproducibility might be a challenge as this method produces nanomaterial with varying properties. • Effects of temperature, pH and concentration should be monitored in the synthesis of Mrtal sulphide nanomaterials.