Mercury Nanoparticles Rapidly Produced by Microwave Irradiation of Bacterial Culture Supernatant

Abstract

The area of nanotechnology places a premium on the creation of
dependable methods for the production of materials on the nanoscale. It has been
claimed that microorganisms can synthesise silver nanoparticles, although this
process is painfully slow. We present a new method for the rapid, easy, and
environmentally friendly synthesis of metallic nanostructures of noble metals like
silver (Ag) using a mixture of Bacillus subtilis culture supernatant and microwave
(MW) irradiation in water, without the need for a surfactant or soft template.
Researchers discovered that silver nanoparticles might be produced by exposing
Bacillus subtilis culture supernatants to microwave irradiation and silver ions. The
size of the silver nanoparticles ranged from 5 to 60 nanometres. Transmission
electron microscopy (TEM) and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS) were
used to study the nanoparticles. This technology produces stable nanoparticles in a
matter of months with no use of harmful chemicals and an extraordinarily fast
production time. The most important takeaway is that bio-reduction is a viable
substitute for electrochemical approaches when it comes to producing nanoparticles.