Abstract:
Disposal of untreated sewage, coloring dyes and release of pollutant gases to the atmosphere
due to increase in population number and rapid growth of industrialization, causes water
pollution. Water pollution problem is getting very severe all over the world. So, it is very
important to search for high performance materials for solving the problem. The main objective
of this study was to synthesize, characterize and to investigate photocatalytic dye degradation
activity of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs). Fe3O4 NPs were synthesized via
green synthesis method by taking ferric chloride hexahydrate (FeCl3.6H2O) and ferrous chloride
tetra hydrate (FeCl2.4H2O) (2:1 molar ratio) and Maesa lanceolata L. leaf extract as capping
agent. The synthesized Fe3O4 NPs were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, FT-IR
spectroscopy and XRD spectroscopy. The UV-Vis spectroscopy shows the characteristic peak
of Fe3O4 NPs at 370 nm. FT-IR spectroscopic study of the plant extract and the synthesized
Fe3O4 NPs revealed the formation of Fe3O4 NPs by coordination with the functional groups
present in the plant extract. The XRD analysis elaborated the formation of crystalline Fe3O4 NPs
and used to estimate the average crystalline size that is about 14.6 nm. The formation of
nanometer sized Fe3O4 NPs makes promising candidate for photocatalytic degradation of
methylene blue (MB) dye. As a result, the degradation efficiency of Fe3O4 NPs on a model
organic dye MB after optimization (pH=10, the mass of the Fe3O4 NPs=30 mg, concentration of
MB=5 mg/L and temperature=60 ºC) was found to be 94.3%. In this study, Fe3O4 NPs were
successfully synthesized using an aqueous leaf extract of Maesa lanceolata L. via green route
method and the nanocatalysts were highly efficient for methylene blue photocatalytic
degradation
