Synthesis of Calcium Oxide Nanoparticles from Waste Eggshell by Thermal Decomposition and their Applications

Abstract

This study used the physical method to synthesize calcium oxide nanoparticles (CaO NPs) from eggshell. The method provided a new and improved approach with the advantage of being low cost as it uses eggshell waste as a synthesis precursor. Calcium oxide is an important inorganic compound with many biomedical applications because of its anti microbial activities against gram negative Escherichia coli and the gram positive Staphylococcus aureus. Results showed that the mean inhibition increased with increased concentration of calcium oxide particles (70, 140, 280, and 560) μg/ml. The obtained particles were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X ray diffraction. The images showed that the calcium oxide NPs were nearly spherical granules. The annotated SEM images that produced the CaO NPs had a mean size of 20-70 nm