Ocimum tenuiflorum-Assisted Fabrication of Iron-Oxide Nanoparticles and Its Use in Wastewater Treatment of the Textile Industry

Iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by an eco-friendly, simple, and green chemistry approach using Ocimum tenuiflorum leaf extract as a reducing agent. The synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, SEM with EDX, FT-IR, zeta potential, and TGA. In addition, the prepared nanoparticles were assessed for their antibacterial properties to remove heavy metals from textile industrial wastewater. Bio-inspired iron oxide nanoparticles are highly stable and have cubic structures with an average size of 17–24 nm. The novelty of the present investigation was to employ the O. tenuiflorum leaf extract-mediated iron oxide nanoparticles in wastewater treatment. The synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles showed good antibacterial activity against waterborne pathogens. In total, 52–83% of heavy metals were removed from the textile wastewater with the help of the iron oxide nanoparticles. The study concludes that O. tenuiflorum-mediated iron oxide nanoparticles may be employed for killing microbes and removing heavy metals from wastewater.