Green Synthesis of Iron Nanoparticles using Eucalyptus Leaf Extracts and Characterization for Photocatalytic Studies

The simple and free solvent green synthesis approach is promising for the preparation of nanoparticles due to its eco-friendly and straightforward, which replaced the use of toxic chemicals. This work reports the synthesis of iron nanoparticles using the eucalyptus leaf extracts and it has been studied their structural, functional groups, morphological, and elemental properties. Initially, X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern showed the presence of organic materials and iron (α-Fe phase). Next, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy (RS) were confirmed the presence of iron oxide (Fe-O) stretching vibrations at 550 cm-1 and 575 cm-1, respectively. The UV-visible absorbance spectrum endorsed the existence of the plasma enhancement in between 250 to 370 nm, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs shown the formation of irregular spherical grains. The energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) investigation was evidenced the presence of iron (Fe) nanoparticles. Finally, the successful preparation of iron nanoparticles used as the catalyst for the photo degradation (~98% for 150 min.) study of Rhodamine B dye and results discussed.