Abstract

The green method of synthesizing nanoparticles is an eco-friendly, reliable and cost effective approach which has proven to be an alternative to chemical based methods over the years (Dipankar and Murugan, 2012). This research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of super-paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (FeNPs), adopted a co-precipitation procedure by the interaction of ferric chloride solution (precursor) with aqueous extract of wonderful kola seed. The characterization phase was investigated using the Ultra-violet visible spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infra- red, X-ray Diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy. The SEM analysis showed that the particles have irregular shapes with the average particle diameter measured between 10 to 40 nm. The crystalline nature of the nanoparticles was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction method with the crystallite size range between 10 and 47 nm. The absorbance peak of the synthesized wonderful kola FeNPs was investigated using the ultra-violet visible spectroscopy with wavelengths of 431, 488, 613 and 642 nm and corresponding band gap energies of 2.87, 2.54, 2.02 and 1.93eV respectively; while the absorbance peak of wonderful kola extract has a wavelength of 256 nm with band gap energy of 4.84 eV showing the tendency of a new compound formed. The FTIR peak at 3336.0cm^-1 corresponds to the –OH bond stretching, with a strong and broad peak intensity (S, B) indicating the presence of alcohols and phenol. The peak value at 1636.3 cm^-1 corresponds to C=O bond stretching vibration with strong intensity, indicating the presence of carbonyl and acids. The peak values also denote the change in fundamental vibrational levels of most molecules present in the sample. The synthesized magnetic nanoparticles could be applied as an enhancement tool in microwave tumour ablation.

Key words: Iron oxide nanoparticle, wonderful kola (Bulchholzia coriacea), super-paramagnetic, phytochemicals, FeNP characterization.