Biogenic synthesis enhanced structural, morphological, magnetic and optical properties of zinc ferrite nanoparticles for moderate hyperthermia applications

A biogenic protocol has been adopted for the formulation of zinc ferrite nanoparticles (ZFNPs) using an aqueous extract of Allium cepa (AC) as a reducing agent for the optimization of its properties. The various characterization results from XRD, SEM, DRS, Raman, and VSM clearly showed that the formulated ZFNP was a single phase with crystallite size in the range of 11–15 nm. A spherical morphology was observed for all the samples with particle size in the range of 34–52 nm. All the samples showed a superparamagnetic behavior with reduced saturation magnetization. The ZFNPs prepared were used for self-heating analysis in hyperthermia applications at 180 Oe applied field and 425 Hz. It produced enough heating within the therapeutic temperature to attain the Curie temperature. The ZFNP formulated is auspicious for hyperthermia applications with less side effect owing to their biocompatibility, moderate Curie temperature, and SAR value within the therapeutic range. The formulated nanoparticles have further broadened the horizon of hyperthermia therapeutic applications with an innocuous protocol within 300 s.