Green synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles by the aqueous extract of Laurus nobilis L. leaves and evaluation of the antimicrobial activity

Abstract

A valuable approach in green nanotechnology is the application of biomaterials in the synthesis of nanoparticles. In this project, we synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles in the phase of hematite (α-Fe2O3) by the aqueous extract of Laurus nobilis L. leaves in a simple and eco-friendly method. The nanoparticles were characterized using Ultraviolet–Visible spectroscopy (UV–Visible), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transfer electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that the nanoparticles are crystalline, almost spherical like and partly as a hexagonal shape with an average size of 8.03 ± 8.99 nm. The antimicrobial activity of the synthesized nanoparticles was evaluated against three bacteria and two fungi. The results showed that the nanoparticles are moderately effective on the Gram-positive bacterium of Listeria monocytogenes and the fungi Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium spinulosum. The nanoparticles synthesized by this green method could be potentially useful as antifungal and antibacterial compound and, may be considered as gas sensors, light photo-catalysis and, semiconductor.