Green synthesis of environmentally friendly Ag/AgCl nanoparticles for use as solid phase extraction materials

Green synthesis is a prominent procedure used to easily and environmentally friendly fabricate nanostructures and nanoparticles (NPs), without complex instrumentation, intricate procedures, and harmful chemicals. This study investigated the green synthesis of silver NPs (AgNPs), with <i>Aronia melanocarpa</i> fruit extract as the reducing agent. Following synthesis optimization, AgNPs were characterized using a range of analytical techniques, including UV-Vis, XRD, SEM-EDX, BET, and TEM analyses. Based on the characterization results, an Ag/AgCl hybrid structure was formed. The Ag/AgCl NPs obtained were utilized as adsorbents to remove Cd(II) and Pb(II) heavy metals. The experimental factors that were optimized included pH (5.5), sample volume (5 mL), eluent type and concentration (2 M HNO₃), adsorbent amount (5 mg), and extraction time (30 min). Under optimized conditions, the limits of detection were determined to be 9.6 and 4.8 µg/L for Pb(II) and Cd(II), respectively. These limits were established within a concentration range of 50-3,000 µg/L.