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Research Article | | Peer-Reviewed

Synthesis and Characterization of Copper (Cu) Nanoparticles from Copper Tailing and Reagent Copper Salt Using Sodium Borohydride as a Reductant

Okpala-Chinonso Angela Nchedo,  Moronkola Bridget Adekemi,  Alegbe Monday John*
Published in American Journal of Nanosciences (Volume 10, Issue 1)
Received: 24 February 2026     Accepted: 16 March 2026     Published: 31 March 2026
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Abstract

Mine tailing is the waste materials left after the excavation of valuable mineral resources. It is an environmental pollutant which are often rich in metal ions, can be harnessed and used as a reagent salt substitute to synthesize nanoparticles. The copper tailings can be managed by converting it to copper nanoparticles for various purposes. This research is focused on conversion of waste (excavated copper waste) to wealth (copper nanoparticles). The synthesis of copper nanoparticles from tailings is a novel approach of recovering copper from copper tailings. The aim of this research is to synthesize and characterize copper (Cu) nanoparticles from copper tailings and reagent copper salt using sodium borohydride as a reductant. Chemical reduction method was used in the synthesis of copper nanoparticles from copper tailings and reagent copper salt Experimental approach: Pulverized copper tailing (PCT) particles was digested and the filtrate was analyzed to identify and quantify the cations and anions using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Ion Chromatography (IC) respectively. The digested filtrate was used to synthesize copper nanoparticles by chemical reduction method. Characterization of the synthesized copper nanoparticles was conducted using techniques such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), ThermoGravimetric Analysis (TGA), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Bruner Emmett Teller (BET), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Results: The ICP-OES identified Cu from PCT to be the predominant cation (1355.25 mg/L), and IC identified sulphate (838.50 mg/L) to be the predominant anion. The XRD of the particles are crystalline. TGA results revealed the stability of PCT, Synthesized tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs at 282.31°C, 297.70°C, and 311.37°C while BET shows the surface area at (157.52 m2/g), (178.54 m2/g), and (189.93 m2/g) respectively. The SEM and TEM revealed spherical particle shape for all the samples. In conclusion: the quality of the synthesized tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs are almost similar. Also, the PCT can be used as a substitute to reagent copper salt to synthesize Cu NPs. The novelty of this research is comparing Cu NPs synthesized from tailing and reagent salt.

Published in American Journal of Nanosciences (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajn.20261001.13
Page(s) 29-40
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group
Previous article
Keywords

Copper Tailing, Digestion, Synthesis, ICP-OES, Characterization

1. Introduction
Nanotechnology is the manipulation of materials at the nanoscale which ranges from 1–100 nm, as the materials could exhibit unique physical, chemical, and biological properties which are not in the bulk sample
[1, 2]
. Nanoparticles have gained attention due to their small particle size which results to large surface area, enhancing the electrical, thermal, optical, reactivity, and magnetic properties
[1, 2]
. The Reduction of materials to nanoscale will significantly increase their surface area-to-volume ratio, modifies their electronic structure, and enhances their reactivity
[3]
. These nanoscale effects have enabled breakthroughs in medicine, catalysis, environmental remediation, energy storage, and electronics
[4]
. Nanotechnology is the link between classical and quantum mechanics in a gray area called a mesoscopic system
[5, 6]
. The mining process of rocks and minerals excavated from the Earth’s crust, often contain valuable minerals and metals, such as gold, copper, iron, or silver
[7]
. Mine tailings are the leftover materials that remain after the valuable minerals have been extracted and the substantial portion of the materials extracted from mining processes end up as mine tailings
[8]
. Mine tailings which present a serious environmental problem to its environment can also create opportunities of turning the waste into wealth of high economic value
[9]
. Mine tailings is the remaining fine grained (1-600 mm) which consist of the ground-up rock after minerals of value have been extracted from mined ore with the associated process water which includes dissolved metals and ore processing reagents. In copper mining, tailings can account for 95- 99% of the crushed and ground ores
[9]
. Due to development in extractive metallurgy and material science, tailings are now regarded as potential secondary sources of metals, construction materials, and even nanomaterials
[10, 11]
. Nigeria like several other African nations is also facing challenges from artisanal and large-scale mining activities that generate large wastes which poorly managed tailings
[12-14]
. The residual copper does not only represent a lost economic resource but also contributes to environmental hazards
[2, 15]
. When sulphide minerals in tailings like pyrites or chalcopyrites are exposed to oxygen of the air and water, they undergo oxidation which generate acid mine drainage (AMD)
[16, 17]
. Copper mine tailings are of particular interest despite its intensive processing, they often contain significant quantity of copper that are not completely extracted from their ores for example, copper tailings contain about 0.2–1.0% Cu, which depend on the efficiency of processing copper ore
[18]
. The recovery of copper and other metals from ore tailings reduces environmental hazards while contributing to resource efficiency and principles of circular economy
[19, 20]
. The recovery of copper from mine tailings through hydrometallurgical processes such as high-pressure leaching and solvent extraction can achieve recovery efficiencies more 90%
[21, 22]
. Bulk metal recovery was carried out without focusing on transformation of recovered copper into functional nanomaterials. However, very little is known about how the physicochemical properties of Cu -NPs synthesized from mine tailings compare with those produced from conventional precursors. Almost all copper element minerals are found in economic ores quantity as oxides, sulphates, or sulphides, and with other metals such as gold or silver
[23, 24]
. Copper is a toxic element found in most tailings excavated from mining sites
[23, 25]
, because of the current technological unfeasibility of completely extracting the metal from the ore. In tailings, copper oxidation state is usually found in the Cu2+ in these forms such as sulphates (CuSO4), oxides (CuO), sulphides in form of chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), and other minor mineral phases. Copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) are materials with particle size that ranges from 1–100 nm of copper particles
[26]
. The methods of synthesizing of copper nanoparticles are a top-down method, bottom-up method, and green/biogenic method
[27]
. Top-down method top-down method involves breaking down bulk materials into nanoscale particles by mechanical, thermal, or physical means
[28, 29]
. Mechanical milling (High-Energy Ball Milling) technique involves the use mechanical energy to reduce bulk materials to nanoscale through repeated impact and attrition
[30]
. Laser ablation technique involves irradiating a solid target with high-energy laser pulses in a liquid or gas atmosphere to produce high-purity nanoparticles with narrow size distributions but requires sophisticated laser systems
[31, 32]
). Physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques form nanoparticles by the condensation of vaporized materials under controlled conditions
[33, 34]
. Bottom-Up methods of synthesis is the building of nanoparticles atom-by-atom or molecule-by-molecule through chemical or biological processes
[35, 36]
. Metal precursors dissolved in a suitable water solvent mixed with both a reducing agent and a stabilizing agent in a well-stirred reactor in an inert atmosphere
[3]
. And the techniques are chemical reduction
[26, 37]
, co-precipitation
[38, 39]
, Sol–Gel Method
[40, 41]
, Hydrothermal/Solvothermal
[42, 43]
, Sonochemical
[44, 45]
. Green/Biogenic Synthesis is the use of plant extracts, bacteria, or fungi as reducing and stabilizing agents to synthesize nanoparticles and it is eco-friendly method which minimizes chemical waste but can produce variable particle sizes due to biological variability
[46, 47]
. Copper nanoparticles is used for energy
[48, 49]
, catalysis
[50, 51]
, cosmetic
[52, 53]
, paints
[54, 55]
, agriculture
[56]
, energy
[57, 58]
, medicine
[59, 60]
, electronics
[61]
, medicine
[62, 63]
, and catalysis
[64]
. The copper tailing is the precursor molecule containing the metal atoms from which a copper nanoparticle will be synthesized and it is the factor that determines the final nanomaterial. The aim of this study is synthesize copper nanoparticles from copper mine tailings and reagent copper salt by chemical reduction method.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Sample and Sampling Techniques
Sampling of copper mine tailings samples were collected from an active operating mining site located in Dawa Town in Toro Local Government Area (LGA), Bauchi State, Nigeria. About 10 kg of the dried copper tailing sample was collected into a polythene bag or container and closed to prevent the ingress of air that could oxidize the Cu to Cu2+and milled or pulverized to an homogenized fine powdery particle form. Pretreated sample was taken out of the laboratory to carry out characterization, physicochemical parameters, digestion and synthesis of copper nanoparticles.
2.2. Physicochemical and Anion Analysis
The dissolution and determination of the concentration of copper from the pulverized copper tailing (PCT) in order to extract the copper from the matrix of the solid copper ore tailing. 20.0 g of the dried pulverized copper tailing (PCT) was weighed and dissolved in 200 mL of distilled water by subjecting it to constant stirring with a magnetic stirrer at 50°C with speed of 250 rpm for 24 hours. The mixture solution was filtered to collect the supernatant solution and a small quantity of the solution was taken to carry out anion analysis using ion chromatography (IC) for qualitative and quantitative analysis while other portion was used to carry out physicochemical analysis to assess pollution the mining operation could cause to the community where they operate.
2.3. Chemicals and Reagents/Materials
The chemicals and reagents used for this research are sodium borohydride (NaBH4), nitric acid (HNO3), hydrochloric acid (HCl), copper sulphate pentahydrate (CuSO4.5H2O), ethanol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone and distilled water were purchased from Tunnex Chemicals and there was no further purification of the chemicals. Copper tailings obtained from copper mine was processed by pulverizing it for further use after sieving.
2.4. Digestion of Copper Tailings
Digestion process is a very effective method that can be used to recover and recycle copper present in the copper tailings. The PCT waste was subjected to digestion process to leach out the metals that are trapped inside the matrix of the copper metal ore. 10.0 g of the copper tailing sample was weighed into a 250 mL beaker and digested with aqua regia consisting of concentrated nitric acid (HNO3) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) in ratio 1:3. The mixture was subjected to constant stirring on a magnetic stirrer and heated at 60°C for 2 hours, remove the mixture, filter and transfer the filtrate into a 200 mL volumetric flask and make it up to the mark with distilled water. The mixture was removed and allowed to cool before filtering the mixture solution in a 1 L volumetric flask and the mixture was used to determine the cations in the copper tailings using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles.
2.5. Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles
Copper nanoparticles were synthesized using chemical reduction method for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles from copper mine tailings and reagent copper salt samples.
2.5.1. Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles from Copper Tailings
The synthesis of copper nanoparticles from digested copper tailing solution was carried out by chemical reduction method using sodium borohydride as reductant
[65, 66]
. Sodium borohydride (NaBH4) solution was prepared by weighing 37.83 g into a beaker and dissolved with 1 L of distilled water. 150 mL 0.5 M NaBH4 solution of freshly prepared NaBH4 solution was added drop wise into 200 mL digested copper tailing solution and subjected to constant stirring using magnetic stirrer for 1h with the formation of black precipitate. The addition of NaBH4 solution was continued until no more formation of black precipitate and the mixture was filtered, washed several times with distilled water to remove all traces of impurities. The precipitate was oven dried in a regulated oven at 80°C for 1 hour to remove the traces of moisture in the sample and keep in a desiccator to cool before weighing, record the result and repeat the drying and weighing process until a constant weight was obtained. The precipitate was grinded, sieved and transferred into a sample bottle before subjecting it to some qualitative analysis using analytical techniques to characterize it.
Equation of the reactions
Cu2++ 2 BH4-→ Cu0+ 2 B2H2(1)
4 Cu2++ BH4-+ 5 H2O → 2 Cu2O + B(OH)3+ 2 H2+ 7 H+(2)
4 Cu + O2→ 2 Cu2O(3)
2.5.2. Synthesis of Copper Nanoparticles from Reagent Copper Salt
The synthesis of copper nanoparticles from reagent grade copper salt was carried out following the same procedure in Section 2.5.1 method except that the reagent copper sulphate (CuSO4.5H2O) salt was used by weighing 20 g of the hydrated copper salt and dissolved in 250 mL distilled water to form the copper solution. 150 mL 0.5 M NaBH4 solution of freshly prepared NaBH4 solution was added drop wise into 100 mL reagent copper salt solution and subjected to constant stirring using magnetic stirrer for 1h until a black precipitate was completely formed, the mixture solution was filtered, washed and rinsed several times with distilled water to remove all impurities. The precipitate was oven dried in a regulated oven at 80°C for 1 hour, remove the sample and keep in a desiccator to cool before weighing. Repeat the drying, cooling and weighing process until a constant weight is obtained. The precipitate was grinded, sieved and stored in a sample bottle before subjecting it to some qualitative analysis using analytical techniques to characterize it.
Equation of the reactions
Cu2++ 2 BH4-→ Cu0+ B2H2(4)
4 Cu2++ BH4-+ 3 H2O → 4Cu0+ H3BO3+ 7 H+(5)
2 Cu + O2→ CuO(6)
Figure 1. Experimental flow chart of synthesizing Cu NPs from copper tailings.
2.6. Analytical Techniques
These are the various analytical techniques used in the analysis of the pulverized copper tailings, copper tailings nanoparticles and reagent salt nanoparticles. These techniques are explained in the sub-sections below.
2.6.1. Physicochemical Analysis
The physicochemical analysis of copper mine tailing solution was carried out to assess the impact of the waste on the environment. Some of the following parameters were analyzed.
Multi-Parameter Meter
pH, EC, TDS, Salinity, DO, and temperature are used to determine the acidity or alkalinity, solution conductivity, measures the combined content of all the dissolved pulverized copper tailing in the solution, measures the concentration of all the dissolved salts in the PCT solution, measures the amount of free oxygen molecules in the copper solution and measures thermal energy of the PCT solution respectively using Hanna HI98494. BOD is used to measure the oxygen consumed by microorganisms in the PCT solution for a period of time at 20°C using Hach BODTrack II, COD is used to determine the total quantity of oxygen required to chemically oxidized PCT solution and TSS was used to determine the suspended solid particles in PCT solution using Hach SOLITAX Sc Sensor.
2.6.2. Anion Analysis
The anions present in the copper mine tailing solution was analyzed using ion chromatography Dionex ICS 2100 instrument.
2.6.3. Cation Analysis
The cations present in the copper mine tailing solution was analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy which was employed in the analysis of the metal ions in the mine waste using PerkinElmer Avio 500 ICP-OES instrument.
2.6.4. Characterization
The crystal structure of the synthesized copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles from copper mine tailing and reagent copper salt were identified using XRD (D8 of Bruker) with Cu Kα radiation 1.5418 A°, operating voltage 40 kV, current 40 mA and step size 0.02° in 2θ scan to determine the crystallinity and mineral composition. The XRD of PCT, Tailing Cu NPS and Reagent Cu NPs gave average of all the crystal volume, and anywhere peak broadening is seen, it can be due to fine crystal structure, and the crystalline size D can be calculated using Debye-Scherrer’s equation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to scan the surface morphology of the Cu NPs with ZEISS GeminiSEM 360, and the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used to scan the internal surface of the synthesized Cu NPs with Hitachi HT7800 Series (120 kv TEM). X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) is used to determine the elemental composition of the synthesized Cu NPs from mine tailings and reagent Cu NPs with Bruker-S1 TITAN (Handheld), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy is used to identify the functional groups in the Cu NPs with Bruker ALPHA II FTIR, Thermogravimetric analysis is used to determine the thermal stability of a material with PerkinElmer TGA 8000, and BET is used analyze the surface area of the synthesized copper tailing nanoparticles with NOVA 1000e/4200e.
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Physicochemical and Anion Analysis
The physicochemical analysis of the pulverized copper mine waste in water which consists of pH, EC, TDS, DO, BOD, COD, Temperature, salinity and TSS is presented in Figure 2. The results of physicochemical analysis revealed that all parameters of the analysis are within the WHO permissible limit except the pH (5.94) which was not within the permissible limit.
Table 1. WHO Standard for physicochemical analysis.

Physicochemical Parameters

WHO Standard

TDS

300-600 mg/L

TSS

< 500 mg/L

COD

< 100 mg/L

EC

≤ 400 µScm

pH

6.5-8.5

Salinity

≤ 0.5 ppt

Temperature

≤ 25 oC

BOD

< 30 mg/L
Figure 2. Physicochemical analysis of pulverized Cu tailing solution.
3.2. Cation and Anion Analysis of Pulverized Copper Tailing Solution
Figure 3 presents the qualitative and quantification analysis of cations and anions in the PCT solution. The cation and anion analysis were carried out using ICP-OES and IC analytical techniques respectively. The ICP-OES revealed copper (Cu2+) to be the predominant cation with concentration of 1335 mg/L while the IC revealed sulphate (SO42-) to be the predominant anion with concentration of 838.50 mg/L and this means that the copper ore tailing was copper sulphate (CuSO4) salt.
Figure 3. Metal ions (A) and Anions (B) of pulverized Cu tailing solution.
3.3. Characterization of Synthesized Copper Nanoparticles
The characterization of pulverized copper tailings and the synthesized copper nanoparticles from mine tailings and reagent grade copper salt was carried out using the following analytical methods: XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA, FTIR, XRF, and BET.
3.3.1. XRD
Figure 4. XRD spectrum (A) and mineral composition (B) of PCT, synthesized tailing Cu NPs, and reagent Cu NPs.
The pulverized copper tailings (PCT) is the milled or crushed copper wastes collected from the mine to be processed to form copper solution which is a precursor to synthesize Cu NPs. The XRD spectra and mineral composition of the synthesized tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs in Figure 4 revealed tiny peak spectra which indicated crystallinity and their calculated particle sizes using Scherer’s equation to be 8 nm, 3 nm and 1 nm respectively. The XRD results revealed PCT Cu spectrum at 32.6° and 43.7° with Cu mineral phase composition of 12% Delafosite Syn, synthesized tailings Cu NPs spectrum at 36.4°, 56.5° and 63.4° with Cu mineral phase composition as Cuprite 38% and synthesized reagent Cu NPs spectrum at 38.4°, 42.5°, 64.2° and 66.3° with Cu mineral phase composition as Tenorite 63% and Delafosite Syn 8.5%. The reagent synthesized Cu NPs has the highest Cu mineral composition of 71.5% followed by tailing synthesized Cu NPs mineral composition of 38% and PCT composition of 12%
[67]
. The PCT mineral composition of Delafosite Syn Cu is CuFeO2, synthesized tailing Cu NPs mineral phase composition of cuprite is Cu2O and synthesized reagent Cu NPs mineral phase composition of Tenorite is CuO
[68]
. Previous studies revealed the synthesis Cu NPs with different mineral phases such as cuprite and Tenorite with very sharp peaks which are due to the high nanocrystalline nature of copper samples
[68, 69]
. Bragg’s reflections are observed in XRD pattern at 2θ value of Figure 5.
3.3.2. SEM And TEM
The morphology of PCT and synthesized Cu NPs from Cu tailings and Cu reagent salt presented in Figure 5 revealed SEM images (A) revealed the outer surface of the PCT, synthesized tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs to have irregular particle sizes with some agglomeration which indicate the present of moisture. The SEM images (A) particle sizes for PCT, tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs revealed 58.2 nm, 46.7 nm and 45. 3 nm respectively. The TEM images (B) revealed the inner morphology of Cu particles to be spherical structures with particle sizes for PCT, tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs calculated using Imagej software to be 8 nm, 15 nm and reagent 6 nm respectively.
Figure 5. SEM Images (A) and TEM Morphology (B) of pulverized Cu tailing, synthesized tailing Cu NPs (B) and reagent Cu NPs (C).
3.3.3. FTIR and TGA
The results of FTIR (A) and TGA (B) of samples in Figure 6 revealed FTIR functional groups absorption bands at 3231.60 cm-1, 2907.32 cm-1, 2825.32 cm-1, 1744.39 cm-1, 15887.85 cm-1, 995.20 cm-1, and 756.65 cm-1 are the stretching of C-O, alkane C-H, C=O, C-O, and Cu-O respectively while 1398.30 cm-1 is C-H bending. Figure 6b showed the TGA curves of the PCT, tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs. The TGA analysis results revealed thermal stabilities of the three Cu samples and the PCT temperature was lower than that of the synthesized Cu nanoparticles but the reagent Cu NPs stability was the highest. The TGA was conducted by heating 100 g of the Cu NP samples at the rate of 5°C/minute and the samples exhibited two distinct stages of weight loss gradually as the temperature increase, the degradation of the 100 g samples increasing. The initial sharp weight loss from room temperature to 283.53°C, 293.51°C, and 305.97°C for PCT, Tailing Cu NPs and Reagent Cu NPs respectively is due to evaporation of physiosorbed water molecules while the second stage of a small weight loss of PCT, Tailing Cu NPs and Reagent Cu NPs at temperatures between 439.32°C–827.57°C, 438.08 – 835.19 oC and 424.91 oC–841.36 oC respectively can be ascribed to the evaporation of chemisorbed water molecules
[50, 70]
. As temperature rise above 550°C, the TGA curve becomes flat which indicate no further weight loss.
Figure 6. FTIR absorption bands (A) and TGA (B) of Pulverized Cu tailing, tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs.
3.3.4. XRF Analysis
The elemental composition of the samples is presented in Figure 7 revealed the percent composition of the metal oxides presents in the PCT, tailings Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs. The PCT contained highest amount of SiO2, Fe2O3, Al2O3, SO3, CaO, and Cl than the synthesized nanoparticles and it can be attributed to the geological composition of the mining site untreated soil. However, the quantity of the copper in the three samples presented in Figure 7 is PCT (47.67%), Tailing Cu NPs (79.93%) and Reagent Cu NPs (74.12%). It is expected for the PCT to have the lowest composition because it is a waste that contains small quantities that can be used as substitute of reagent grade copper salt for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles.
Figure 7. XRF elemental composition of Pulverized Cu tailing, tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs.
3.3.5. BET Analysis
The BET surface area of the synthesized Cu NPs from mine tailings and reagent Cu salt samples are presented in Figures 8-9. Figure 8a presents the results of micropore analysis of tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs revealed their pore volumes and pore diameters to be 0.122 cc/g, 2.70 nm and 0.131 cc/g, 2.58 nm respectively which indicated that the pore volume of the reagent Cu NPs is more than the tailing Cu NPs while the reverse is the case for the pore diameter. Figure 8b presents the pore size distribution of the tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs which revealed the surface area, pore volume and pore diameter to be 178.54 m2/g, 0.086 cc/g, 2.43 nm and 188.85 m2/g, 0.093 cc/g, 2.44 nm respectively. These results revealed that the reagent Cu NPs is higher than the tailing Cu NPs. Figure 9 presents the Langmuir (A) and multi-point BET results. Figure 9A revealed the Langmuir of tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs to be 328.51 m2/g and 332.19 m2/g respectively while the multi-point BET in Figure 9b are 138.09 m2/g and 153.87 m2/g respectively.
Figure 8. BET surface area of micropore volume (A) and pore size distribution (B) of tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs.
Figure 9. BET surface area of Langmuir (A) and multi-point BET (B) of tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs.
4. Conclusion
1) The cation and anion analysis of the copper tailing revealed that the waste is composed of copper sulphate salt
2) The XRD mineral phase of PCT, reagent Cu NPs and tailing Cu NPs revealed Delafosite Syn (12%), Tenorite (63%), and Cuprite (38%) respectively
3) XRF elemental composition of PCT, reagent Cu NPs and tailing Cu NPs are 47.67%, 79.93% and 74.12% respectively
4) SEM revealed the surface morphology while TEM inner morphology for PCT, tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs to be spherical shape structures. The particle sizes of PCT, tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs for SEM was 58.2 nm, 46.7 nm and 45. 3 nm while that of TEM were 8 nm, 15 nm and reagent 6 nm respectively
5) The TGA of PCT, tailing Cu NPs, and reagent Cu NPs were thermally stable with gradual degradation with temperature increase
6) The FTIR of the samples revealed the functional groups absorption bands of the stretching vibrations of O-H, alkane C-H, C=O, C-O, C-O, and Cu-O respectively
7) The BET of PCT, tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs revealed their surface areas to be 107.3 m2/g, 138.1 m2/g and 166.4 m2/g respectively
Abbreviations

PCT

Pulverized Copper Tailings

Tailing Cu NPs

Tailing Copper Nanoparticles

Reagent Cu

Reagent Copper Nanoparticles

BET

Bruanuer-Emmette-Teller

FTIR

Fourier Transform Infrared

SEM

Scanning Electron Microscopy

TEM

Transmission Electron Microscopy

TGA

Thermogravimetric Analysis

XRD

X-ray Diffraction

XRF

X-ray Flourescence

IC

Ion Chromatography

ICP-OES

Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry

NaBH4

Sodium Borohydride

HNO3

Nitric Acid

HCl

Hydrochloric Acid

FeCl3

Ferric Chloride

DO

Dissolved Oxygen

EC

Electrical Conductivity

TDS

Total Dissolved Solids

COD

Chemical Oxygen Demand

BOD

Biological Oxygen Demand

TSS

Total Suspended Solids
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Lagos State University management for providing enabling environment for carrying out this research, Mrs. Omowonuola Adenike and Mr. Onifade Olayinka for their technical assistance to achieve these results.
Author Contributions
Okpala-Chinonso Angela Nchedo: Fund acquisition, Investigation, Project Administration
Moronkola Bridget Adekemi: Data curation, Project Administration
Alegbe Monday John: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this research work.
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    Nchedo, O. A., Adekemi, M. B., John, A. M. (2026). Synthesis and Characterization of Copper (Cu) Nanoparticles from Copper Tailing and Reagent Copper Salt Using Sodium Borohydride as a Reductant. American Journal of Nanosciences, 10(1), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajn.20261001.13

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    Nchedo, O. A.; Adekemi, M. B.; John, A. M. Synthesis and Characterization of Copper (Cu) Nanoparticles from Copper Tailing and Reagent Copper Salt Using Sodium Borohydride as a Reductant. Am. J. Nanosci. 2026, 10(1), 29-40. doi: 10.11648/j.ajn.20261001.13

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    Nchedo OA, Adekemi MB, John AM. Synthesis and Characterization of Copper (Cu) Nanoparticles from Copper Tailing and Reagent Copper Salt Using Sodium Borohydride as a Reductant. Am J Nanosci. 2026;10(1):29-40. doi: 10.11648/j.ajn.20261001.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajn.20261001.13,
  author = {Okpala-Chinonso Angela Nchedo and Moronkola Bridget Adekemi and Alegbe Monday John},
  title = {Synthesis and Characterization of Copper (Cu) Nanoparticles from Copper Tailing and Reagent Copper Salt Using Sodium Borohydride as a Reductant},
  journal = {American Journal of Nanosciences},
  volume = {10},
  number = {1},
  pages = {29-40},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajn.20261001.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajn.20261001.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajn.20261001.13},
  abstract = {Mine tailing is the waste materials left after the excavation of valuable mineral resources. It is an environmental pollutant which are often rich in metal ions, can be harnessed and used as a reagent salt substitute to synthesize nanoparticles. The copper tailings can be managed by converting it to copper nanoparticles for various purposes. This research is focused on conversion of waste (excavated copper waste) to wealth (copper nanoparticles). The synthesis of copper nanoparticles from tailings is a novel approach of recovering copper from copper tailings. The aim of this research is to synthesize and characterize copper (Cu) nanoparticles from copper tailings and reagent copper salt using sodium borohydride as a reductant. Chemical reduction method was used in the synthesis of copper nanoparticles from copper tailings and reagent copper salt Experimental approach: Pulverized copper tailing (PCT) particles was digested and the filtrate was analyzed to identify and quantify the cations and anions using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Ion Chromatography (IC) respectively. The digested filtrate was used to synthesize copper nanoparticles by chemical reduction method. Characterization of the synthesized copper nanoparticles was conducted using techniques such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), ThermoGravimetric Analysis (TGA), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Bruner Emmett Teller (BET), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Results: The ICP-OES identified Cu from PCT to be the predominant cation (1355.25 mg/L), and IC identified sulphate (838.50 mg/L) to be the predominant anion. The XRD of the particles are crystalline. TGA results revealed the stability of PCT, Synthesized tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs at 282.31°C, 297.70°C, and 311.37°C while BET shows the surface area at (157.52 m2/g), (178.54 m2/g), and (189.93 m2/g) respectively. The SEM and TEM revealed spherical particle shape for all the samples. In conclusion: the quality of the synthesized tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs are almost similar. Also, the PCT can be used as a substitute to reagent copper salt to synthesize Cu NPs. The novelty of this research is comparing Cu NPs synthesized from tailing and reagent salt.},
 year = {2026}
}

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  • TY  - JOUR
T1  - Synthesis and Characterization of Copper (Cu) Nanoparticles from Copper Tailing and Reagent Copper Salt Using Sodium Borohydride as a Reductant
AU  - Okpala-Chinonso Angela Nchedo
AU  - Moronkola Bridget Adekemi
AU  - Alegbe Monday John
Y1  - 2026/03/31
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajn.20261001.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajn.20261001.13
T2  - American Journal of Nanosciences
JF  - American Journal of Nanosciences
JO  - American Journal of Nanosciences
SP  - 29
EP  - 40
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-4858
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajn.20261001.13
AB  - Mine tailing is the waste materials left after the excavation of valuable mineral resources. It is an environmental pollutant which are often rich in metal ions, can be harnessed and used as a reagent salt substitute to synthesize nanoparticles. The copper tailings can be managed by converting it to copper nanoparticles for various purposes. This research is focused on conversion of waste (excavated copper waste) to wealth (copper nanoparticles). The synthesis of copper nanoparticles from tailings is a novel approach of recovering copper from copper tailings. The aim of this research is to synthesize and characterize copper (Cu) nanoparticles from copper tailings and reagent copper salt using sodium borohydride as a reductant. Chemical reduction method was used in the synthesis of copper nanoparticles from copper tailings and reagent copper salt Experimental approach: Pulverized copper tailing (PCT) particles was digested and the filtrate was analyzed to identify and quantify the cations and anions using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Ion Chromatography (IC) respectively. The digested filtrate was used to synthesize copper nanoparticles by chemical reduction method. Characterization of the synthesized copper nanoparticles was conducted using techniques such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), ThermoGravimetric Analysis (TGA), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Bruner Emmett Teller (BET), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Results: The ICP-OES identified Cu from PCT to be the predominant cation (1355.25 mg/L), and IC identified sulphate (838.50 mg/L) to be the predominant anion. The XRD of the particles are crystalline. TGA results revealed the stability of PCT, Synthesized tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs at 282.31°C, 297.70°C, and 311.37°C while BET shows the surface area at (157.52 m2/g), (178.54 m2/g), and (189.93 m2/g) respectively. The SEM and TEM revealed spherical particle shape for all the samples. In conclusion: the quality of the synthesized tailing Cu NPs and reagent Cu NPs are almost similar. Also, the PCT can be used as a substitute to reagent copper salt to synthesize Cu NPs. The novelty of this research is comparing Cu NPs synthesized from tailing and reagent salt.
VL  - 10
IS  - 1
ER  -

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    1. 1. Introduction
    2. 2. Materials and Methods
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