Sonochemical synthesis and characterization of aluminum tungsten oxide nanoparticle and study its impact on the growth of microalga

Abstract

Today, investigating the adverse effects of nanoparticles is one of the challenges that researchers are facing. In this study, Al2W3O12 nanoparticles (AWO NPs) were prepared using the ultrasonic procedure for the first time. The probable mechanism for ultrasonic synthesis is creating high-temperature bubbles and nanoreactors in the synthesis medium. Therefore, in this method, the reaction rate and efficiency are improved. An optimum sample in terms of size and morphology was selected by applying multiple analysis such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After that, three different concentrations of NPs (40, 80, 160 ppm) were added to the algal culture medium to investigate the effect of NPs on algae growth. After ten days, biological surveys, including the amount of biomass, number of cells, carotenoids, chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, and malondialdehyde (MDA), were measured. The results showed that a concentration of 80 ppm could be used to increase the growth rate of algae for biotechnology purposes. Furthermore, using higher concentrations in cases involving the aquatic environment could be dangerous. These achievements can be of great importance for mass production and biotechnological exploitation of such algae.