RESEARCH ARTICLE Facile one-pot phytosynthesis of magnetic nanoparticles using potato extract and their catalytic activity Foad Buazar 1 , Mina H. Baghlani-Nejazd 1 , Mohamad Badri 2 , Mehdi Kashisaz 3 , Ali Khaledi-Nasab 4 and Feisal Kroushawi 5 1 Department of Marine Chemistry, Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology, Khorramshahr, Iran 2 Department of Material Science and Engineering, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran 3 Department of Chemical & Process Engineering, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, UKM Bangi, Malaysia 4 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA 5 Ara Scientific Aps, Birkerød, Denmark In the current study, a novel green chemistry recipe is presented for elite phytosynthesis of magnetite nanoparticles (Fe 3 O 4 NPs), using homemade starch-rich potato extract in water as the reaction medium. In this approach, starch-rich potato extract operates as the reducing agent and a stabilizing layer on newly fabricated Fe 3 O 4 NPs. Furthermore, the crystal structure, morphology, durability, chemical composition, purity, and magnetite properties of Fe 3 O 4 NPs are scrutinized, using XRD, TEM, TGA, FTIR, SEM/EDX, and VSM, respectively. The presence of potato extract functional groups on the surface of the magnetite NPs is confirmed via TGA and FTIR analyses. XRD and TEM probes reveal that the magnetite NPs are face centered cubic (FCC) in a shape with the size of which is about 40 Æ 2.2 nm. EDX results demonstrate that the sample contains mainly iron oxide NPs. In addition, VSM measurement confirmed that the powder is superparamagnetic, showing the saturation magnetization value of 28.78emu/g. UV-Vis color intensity of increased productivity of NPs was shown at 375nm. Fe 3 O 4 NPs also exhibits fine catalytic activity for the removal of an organic methylene blue contaminant in waste water at room temperature. Finally, a possible mechanism of the as-synthesized magnetite NPs is discussed. Received: December 2, 2015 Revised: February 15, 2016 Accepted: February 15, 2016 Keywords: Green chemistry / Magnetic / Nanoparticles / Phytosynthesis / Potato extract 1 Introduction The application of green chemistry principles in nano- material synthesis is a relatively new emerging issue concerning the sustainability. This approach has received great attention in recent years due to its capability to design alternative, innocuous, energy efficient, and nontoxic methods toward synthesis [1]. These procedures have been incorporated with the rational utilization of various substances in the nanoparticle preparations and synthetic methods [2]. In contrast to conventional chemical methods, green nanotechnology presents pivotal synthesis/production methods that eliminate the need for harmful and expensive reagents while providing the necessary volume of pure material in an economically viable manner [3, 4]. In this communication, the vision of utilizing natural materials for metal nanoparticles (NPs) grain production has become a naturally gentle alternative method [5–8]. Metal and metal oxide NPs have become a matter of great interest in recent decades, thanks to their various advanta- geous properties such as catalytic, optical, magnetic, and electrical properties [9]. Specifically, magnetic iron oxide (Fe 3 O 4 ) has attracted a great deal of attention among scientists due to its unique applications as catalytic materials, wastewater treatment adsorbents, pigments, coatings, gas sensors, ion exchangers, immunoassay, cancer cell treat- ment, magnetic resonance imaging, and drug delivery [10]. Correspondence: Dr. Foad Buazar, Department of Marine Chemistry, Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology, P.O. Box 669, Khorramshahr, Iran E-mail: fb@kmsu.ac.ir Fax: þ98 61553533322 Abbreviations: FTIR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; NPs, nanoparticles; SEM, scanning electron microscopy; TEM, transmission electron microscopy; XRD, x-ray diffraction DOI 10.1002/star.201500347 Starch/Stärke 2016, 68,1–9 1 www.starch-journal.com ß 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim