Green Synthesized Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Water Treatment

Widely used water treatment methods are based on chemicals that leave residual unwanted impurities, instigating long-term health impacts. Hence, functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been used to fill those gaps and are commonly used for metallic adsorption in contaminated waters. High surface to volume ratio in MNPs allows larger capacity of pollutant adsorption. In this study, we synthesized functionalized iron oxide MNPs by novel green approach using plants, suitable for absorbing inorganic and organic pollutants. Herein, we studied the synthesis and functionalization of particles by extracts from simple maceration. Alkaline solutions and further heat treatments are employed to form the MNPs. XRD results showed formation of cubic Fe phase structure with amorphous character due to excessive organic components, which also reduced their magnetic property. Our nanoparticles have ferromagnetic behavior with Ms =13.09 emu/g and HC=0 Oe. Further investigations for the morphology, adsorption, and biological activity are in progress to test the feasibility of our MNPs for water treatment.