Stability of Gold Nanoparticles Utilizing Honey as a Reducing Agent

In recent years, with an increasing interest in green chemistry, there has been an effort to find and understand synthesis methods using biologically-produced reducing and capping agents to produce stable gold nanoparticles (GNPs). Previous research using honey has shown this substance is a viable reducing agent in the formation of nanoparticles but have not looked at the stability of the colloidal gold nanoparticles. In this work, gold nanoparticles were reduced from an aqueous solution of gold chloroauric acid and a solution of varying concentrations of honey and water. The formation of NPs was analyzed using UV-Visible transmission spectroscopy to confirm the formation of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) between 500-600 nm. The results suggest that an optimum concentration of honey and higher temperatures can lead to more stable NP formation.