Synthesis of ferrites using various parts of plants: a mini review

Abstract

Ferrite nanoparticles are magnetic. They also show photocatalytic and antibacterial activities. These unique properties make them extremely useful for various applications e.g., they can potentially be used for electronic equipment, telecommunication systems, radar, sensing material, catalytic and photocatalytic applications, and several biomedical applications. Several methods have been developed to synthesise these materials. These include sol-gel, co-precipitation, ball-milling, combustion, hydrothermal heating, and microwave hydrothermal procedure. Recently, these materials have been using various parts of plants. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Hydrangea paniculata, rosemary, nyctanthes arbor-tristis, sesame seed, aegle marmelos, Limonia acidissima juice, aloe vera, amaranthus blitum, ginger and cardamom, were used for this purpose. Ferrites of silver, cobalt, zinc, and nickel were prepared successfully. Few doped ferrites, e.g., silver doped cobalt ferrite, nickel doped zinc ferrite, and zinc doped nickel ferrite were also synthesised. Use of plant-parts evades the necessity of the use of expensive metal salts. Various parts of plants, e.g., flowers, leaves, and seeds act as a gelling agent, chelating agent, reducing agent, and capping agent during reactions. This is a non-toxic, eco-friendly, and cost-effective method. The samples were characterized using various Advance Materials Characterisation Techniques. The results were very much in agreement with the desired values. In a few cases, better antibacterial activities have been observed with ferrites obtained via this method. Left-over parts of food and fruits can be used for this method which may help in waste management. Still, the tremendous scope is left in this area that can be exploited which may include scaling-up of the product.