Synthesis, Electrochemical Studies, and Antimicrobial Properties of Fe3O4 Nanoparticles from Callistemon viminalis Plant Extracts

Gloria E Uwaya; Omolola E Fayemi; El-Sayed M Sherif; Harri Junaedi; Eno E Ebenso

doi:10.3390/ma13214894

Synthesis, Electrochemical Studies, and Antimicrobial Properties of Fe₃O₄ Nanoparticles from Callistemon viminalis Plant Extracts

Materials (Basel). 2020 Oct 31;13(21):4894. doi: 10.3390/ma13214894.

Authors

Gloria E Uwaya^{1

2}, Omolola E Fayemi^{1

2}, El-Sayed M Sherif^{3

4}, Harri Junaedi⁵, Eno E Ebenso^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University (Mafikeng Campus), Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa.
² Material Science Innovation and Modelling (MaSIM) Research Focus Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University (Mafikeng Campus), Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa.
³ Center of Excellence for Research in Engineering Materials (CEREM), King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Al-Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Physical Chemistry, Electrochemistry and Corrosion Laboratory, National Research Centre, El-Buhouth St., Dokki, Cairo 12622, Egypt.
⁵ Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, P.O. Box 800, Al-Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Less toxic, environmentally safe green-mediated iron (III) oxide nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄-NP) synthesized using Callistemon viminalis (C. viminalis) leaf (Fe₃O₄-NPL) and flower (Fe₃O₄-NPF) extracts is reported in this work for the first time. Total flavonoids and phenols present in the plant extracts were determined. Characterization of the nanoparticles was carried out using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Malvern zeta sizer. Other properties of the nanoparticles were investigated using the thermogravimetric analyser and cyclic voltammetry. The average particle sizes obtained for Fe₃O₄-NPL and Fe₃O₄-NPF were 17.91 nm and 27.93 nm, respectively. Fe₃O₄-NPL exhibited an excellent electrochemical activity when compared with Fe₃O₄-NPF based on a stability study using cyclic voltammetry and regression value. Additionally, Fe₃O₄-NPF displayed excellent antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus, Salmonella enteritidis, and Vibrio cholerae with zones of inhibition of 13, 15, and 25 mm, respectively. Simple, cheap, and less toxic green-mediated iron (III) oxide nanoparticles synthesized from C. viminalis leaf (Fe₃O₄-NPL) and flower (Fe₃O₄-NPF) extracts hold the potential of being used to control the activity of pathogenic bacteria of health importance and as an electrochemical sensor for both biological and environmental analytes.

Keywords: Callistemon viminalis; Fe3O4-NP; antimicrobial activity; characterization; cyclic voltammetry; green-mediated.