Green synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles using Lathyrus sativus peel extract and evaluation of their catalytic activity

Abstract

Green synthesis is considered as a novel, rapid, and eco-friendly method for obtaining metallic nanoparticles (NPs). In this study, magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4-NPs) were successfully synthesized using Lathyrus sativus peel extract. The NPs were identified and characterized by visual observation, magnetic property, UV–vis spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS), and Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The UV–vis spectrum showed board absorption without having any strong absorption peak, which confirmed the formation of Fe3O4-NPs. Spherical NPs with few agglomerations were noticed in the FESEM image. EDS spectrum showed the intensive peaks for elemental iron (6.398 keV) and oxygen (0.525 keV), which ascertained the formation of NPs. The XRD patterns affirmed the crystalline nature and the crystallite size of 17.72 nm. Based on the XRD data, the value of the lattice parameter was calculated to be 8.377 Å, which was close to the Fe3O4-NPs standards. FTIR analysis showed the characteristic peak at 587 cm−1, typical for Fe–O bond. The catalytic activity of Fe3O4-NPs for the reduction of methylene blue (MB) and methyl red (MR) dye was demonstrated by using UV–vis spectroscopy. It is expected that the synthesized Fe3O4-NPs could be a promising material to treat industrial wastewater via a profitable, sustainable, and eco-friendly approach.