Green Synthesis: An Alternative Sustainable Route for Nanotechology

With the advancements and technological innovation in the past few decades, there has been an exponential increase in the nanotechnology industry. It has come to become one of the most exciting forefront fields in the 21st century. Nanotechnology is the science that deals with particulate matter at nanoscale (1-100 nm). Nanomaterials at nanoscale tend to exhibit unique properties than their bulk counterparts. The rising demand for nanoparticles and nano based products also brings in huge concerns, as the chemical and physical methods for synthesis of nanoparticles require a lot of investment and also involve toxic agents, which result it some serious after effects hazardous to both environment and the living entities. This is when green chemistry comes into the picture, green synthesis approach was found to counter the problems posed by the previous synthesis methods. The mechanism involved in green synthesis, factors affecting the synthesis and the popular techniques used in characterization of the synthesized nanoparticles are discussed in this review paper. Green synthesis has the potential to be an effective approach in minimizing the risks encountered in the traditional methods of synthesis, yet the field is new and more is to be explored and continuous research with follow up is required to adopt green synthesis at a commercial level.