Green Synthesis of Pure Superparamagnetic Fe 3 O 4 Nanoparticles Using Shewanella sp. in a Non-Growth Medium

Saranath Parthasarathy and T. S. Chandra ()
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Saranath Parthasarathy: Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat & Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, Tamil Nadu, India
T. S. Chandra: Department of Biotechnology, Bhupat & Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, Tamil Nadu, India

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-14

Abstract: Conventional wet chemical methods for the synthesis of superparamagnetic magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) are energy-intensive and environmentally unsustainable. Green synthesis using bacteria is a less-explored approach to MNP production. Large-scale biosynthesis of MNPs has heretofore been conducted using extremophilic bacteria that exhibit low growth rates and/or require strict temperature control. However, a decrease in material and energy costs would make such bioprocesses more sustainable. In this study, Shewanella putrefaciens CN-32, an iron-reducing bacterium, was employed to reduce amorphous iron oxyhydroxide and synthesize MNPs in a non-growth medium at ambient temperature and pressure. The synthesis was conducted using plain saline solution (0.85% NaCl) to avoid impurities in the products. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy indicated that the reduction products were MNPs with a pseudo-spherical shape and 6 ± 2 nm average size. Magnetometry showed that the particles were superparamagnetic with maximum saturation magnetization of 73.8 emu/g, which is comparable to that obtained via chemical synthesis methods. Using less than a quarter of the raw materials employed in a typical chemical co-precipitation method, we obtained a maximum yield of 3.473 g/L (>5-fold increase). These findings demonstrate that our simple and ecofriendly process can help overcome the current barriers for large-scale synthesis of high-purity magnetic nanopowders.

Keywords: Shewanella putrefaciens CN-32; biomagnetite; nanoparticles; dissimilatory iron reduction; anaerobic; non-growth medium (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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