The authors report the synthesis of Fe3O4 nanoparticles by wet chemical reduction technique at ambient temperature and its characterization. Ferric chloride hexa-hydrate (FeCl3 · 6H2O) and sodium boro-hydrate (NaBH4) were used for synthesis of Fe3O4 nanoparticles at ambient temperature. The elemental composition of the synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles was determined by energy dispersive analysis of x-rays technique. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was used for structural characterization of the nanoparticles. The crystallite size of the nanoparticles was determined using XRD data employing Scherrer’s formula and Hall–Williamson’s plot. Surface morphology of as-synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles was studied by scanning electron microscopy. High resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis of the as-synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles showed narrow range of particles size distribution. The optical absorption of the synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles was studied by UV–vis–NIR spectroscopy. The as-synthesized nanoparticles were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique for absorption band study in the infrared region. The magnetic properties of the as-synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles were evaluated by vibrating sample magnetometer technique. The thermal stability of the as-synthesized Fe3O4 nanoparticles was studied by thermogravimetric technique. The obtained results are elaborated and discussed in details in this paper.

The SnS₂ nanoparticles were synthesized at room temperature by simple wet chemical method. Stannic chloride pentahydrate (SnCl₄·5H₂O) and thioacetamide (C₂H₅NS) were used as a source of Sn⁺⁴ ions and S⁻² ions, respectively. The elemental composition of the as-synthesized SnS₂ nanoparticles was determined by energy dispersive analysis of X-ray. The structure and lattice parameters were determined by X-ray diffraction. The crystallite size was determined from XRD pattern using Scherrer’s formula and Hall–Williamson plot. The transmission electron microscopy was employed to characterize the nanoparticles. The selected area electron diffraction pattern established the polycrystalline nature of SnS₂ nanoparticles. Surface topography of nanoparticles was studied employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The bandgap determined from the UV–Vis–NIR spectrum of as-synthesized SnS₂ nanoparticles showed blue shift in comparison with the bandgap of bulk SnS₂. The photoluminescence spectra at five different excitation wavelengths 250, 300, 350, 400 and 450 nm showed two strong emission peaks at wavelengths 550 and 825 nm. The obtained results are discussed in details.

A simple hydrothermal route is employed to synthesize pure copper indium disulfide (CIS) and CIS nanoparticles (NPs) mediated by various natural plant extracts. The plant extracts used to mediate are Azadirachta indica (neem), Ocimum sanctum (basil), Cocos nucifera (coconut), Aloe vera (aloe), and Curcuma longa (turmeric). The tetragonal unit cell structure of as-synthesized NPs is confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The analysis by energy-dispersive X-rays shows that all the samples are near-stoichiometric. The morphologies of the NPs are confirmed by high-resolution scanning and transmission modes of electron microscopy. The thermal stability of the synthesized NPs is determined by thermogravimetric analysis. The optical energy band gap is determined from the absorption spectra using Tauc’s equation. The antimicrobial activity analysis and the estimation of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of the samples are performed for Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Staphylococcus aureus pathogens. It shows that the aloe-mediated CIS NPs possess a broad inhibitory spectrum. The best inhibitory effect is observed against S. aureus, whereas the least effect was exhibited against P. vulgaris. The least MIC value is found for aloe-mediated CIS NPs (0.300 mg/mL) against S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and E. aerogenes, along with basil-mediated NPs against E. coli. The antioxidant activity study showed that the IC₅₀ value to inhibit the scavenging activity is maximum for the control (vitamin C) and minimum for pure CIS NPs. The in vivo cytotoxicity study using brine shrimp eggs shows that the pure CIS NPs are more lethal to brine shrimp than the natural extract-mediated CIS NPs. The in vitro cytotoxicity study using the human lung carcinoma cell line (A549) shows that the IC₅₀ value of turmeric extract-mediated CIS NPs is minimum (15.62 ± 1.58 μg/mL). This observation reveals that turmeric extract-mediated CIS NPs are the most potent in terms of cytotoxicity toward the A549 cell line.