Green synthesis of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoflakes using vegetables extracts and their magnetic, structural and antibacterial properties evaluation

Abstract In view of ecobenign nature of green synthesis, iron oxide (Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoflakes are synthesized via a green route. Three different vegetables (spinach, broccoli and pumpkin) extracts were used for the synthesis of Fe 3 O 4 nanoflakes. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses confirm the formation of face centered cubic Fe 3 O 4 , while SEM analysis revealed the formation of nanoflakes. FTIR also confirm the Fe–O bands at 478 and 590 (cm −1 ) and the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) was observed at 280 nm. The magnetic properties were also investigated and Fe 3 O 4 prepared using spinach extract shows relatively low saturation magnetization (Ms) of ∼66 emu/g as compared to pumpkin (105 emu/g) and broccoli (130 emu/g) with ∼25Oe coercivity value. The antibacterial activity of Fe 3 O 4 nanoflakes was studied against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and a highly promising antibacterial activity was observed. Results revealed that the Fe 3 O 4 nanoflakes prepared via a green route could have potential applications in biomedical field.