Colorimetric Detection Based on Localised Surface Plasmon Resonance Optical Characteristics for the Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide Using Acacia Gum-Stabilised Silver Nanoparticles.

Abstract

The use of nanoparticles in sensing is attracting the interest of many researchers. The aim of this work was to fabricate Acacia gum-stabilised silver nanoparticles (SNPs) using green chemistry to use them as a highly sensitive and cost-effective localised surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) colorimeter sensor for the determination of reactive oxygen species, such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Silver nanoparticles were fabricated by the reduction of an inorganic precursor silver nitrate solution (AgNO₃) using white sugar as the reducing reagent and Acacia gum as the stabilising reagent and a sonication bath to form uniform silver nanoparticles. The fabricated nanoparticles were characterised by visual observation, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The TEM micrographs of the synthesised nanoparticles showed the presence of spherical nanoparticles with sizes of approximately 10 nm. The EDAX spectrum result confirmed the presence of silver (58%), carbon (30%), and oxygen (12%). Plasmon colorimetric sensing of H₂O₂ solution was investigated by introducing H₂O₂ solution into Acacia gum-capped SNP dispersion, and the change in the LSPR band in the UV-Vis region of spectra was monitored. In this study, it was found that the yellow colour of Acacia gum-stabilised SNPs gradually changed to transparent, and moreover, a remarkable change in the LSPR absorbance strength was observed. The calibration curve was linear over 0.1-0.00001 M H₂O₂, with a correlation estimation (R2) of .953. This was due to the aggregation of SNPs following introduction of the H₂O₂ solution. Furthermore, the fabricated SNPs were successfully used to detect H₂O₂ solution in a liquid milk sample, thereby demonstrating the ability of the fabricated SNPs to detect H₂O₂ solution in liquid milk samples. This work showed that Acacia gum-stabilised SNPs may have the potential as a colour indicator in medical and environmental applications.