Morphology control in the plant-mediated synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles

Advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology have brought the need to make the nanoparticles preparation friendlier to the environment. The great variety of applications involving magnetite nanoparticles justifies a growing need for greener synthetic routes. A green approach for preparing nanoparticles is based on the use of plant extracts. In this minireview, the current plant-mediated strategies for preparing magnetite nanoparticles are briefly described and the main features (size, morphology, magnetic properties) of the obtained nanoparticles. The advantages and drawbacks of using those procedures are also highlighted.