Phytochemical-Assisted Synthesis of Fe₃O₄ Nanoparticles and Evaluation of Their Catalytic Activity

In this study, magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄ NPs) were synthesized using Baccaurea ramiflora leaf extracts and characterized by visual observation, UV-Vis, FTIR, XRD, FESEM, and EDS. The UV-Vis spectrum showed continuous absorption at 300-500 nm, confirming the formation of Fe₃O₄ NPs. FTIR revealed that compounds containing the O-H group act as reducing agents during Fe₃O₄ NPs formation. Agglomerated spherical NPs were observed in the FESEM image. The prominent peak at ~6.4 keV in the EDS spectrum ascertained the existence of Fe, while the sharp peak at ~0.53 keV confirmed the presence of elemental oxygen. XRD patterns affirmed the crystalline nature. The size of as-synthesized NPs was observed to be 8.83 nm. The catalytic activity of Fe₃O₄ NPs for the reduction of methylene blue (MB) dye was monitored by UV-Vis. The maximum absorption peak of MB dye at 664 nm was almost diminished within 20 min, which revealed Fe₃O₄ NPs could be an excellent catalyst for wastewater treatment.