Biosynthesis of Magnetite (Fe3O4) Nanostructures using Vernonia Amygdalina Leaves Extract

Abstract

An eco-friendly biosynthesis route was employed to synthesize magnetite nanostructures using Vernonia amygdalina leaves extract as a reducing and chelating agent and ferric nitrate nonahydrate precursor at ambient conditions. The desired phase formation and crystal structure of the synthesized nanostructures were in cubic face-centered as confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Morphological properties were studied by scanning electron micrograph, and it showed that nanostructures were synthesized. Ultra-violate visible spectrometer was used to study the optical properties, and ultra-violate visible analysis revealed that spectral absorption band occurred at about 396 nm, which is a characteristic feature of iron oxide. From the Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer analyses of functional groups, the appearance of peaks at 561 cm-1 and 461 cm-1 also corroborate the formation of Fe3O4 nanostructures.