Recently, calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)(2)) nanoparticles derived from calcium oxide (CaO) has been getting attention from researchers as heterogeneous catalyst for several chemical reaction such as: transesterification, chemisorbents for toxic gases and cracking-decarboxylation process. Ca(OH)(2) in nano-crystal structures exhibit superior characteristics which enhance the reaction. In Malaysia, clam species (Meretrix meretrix) are abundantly available in backwater and estuaries along the coast. It is a green material that composed of at least 95% of calcium for CaO production. In the present study, a green solid base Ca(OH)(2) nanoparticles was prepared using waste clamshell (M. meretrix) via low cost wet-chemical route. The effects of wet-surfactant treatments (ethylene glycol (EG), diethyl ether (DE) and N-Cetyl-N,N,N-trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)) on clamshell derived CaO (CS-CaO) were examined. Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of CS-Ca and surfactant treated Ca(OH)(2) were analyzed using X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), fourier transform spectroscopy (FT-IR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique, temperature program desorption of carbon dioxide (TPD-CO2), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that surfactant treatments are capable of enhancing properties of clamshell derived nano-Ca(OH)(2) materials such as particle sizes, surface area and basicity. Among the surfactants, EG rendered the most significant effect on the clamshell-derived material, with surface area of 78.38 m(2) g(-1), basicity of 4658.8 mu mol/g and nanoparticle sizes at 25-42 nm. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.