Additive-Free Rice Starch-Assisted Synthesis of Spherical Nanostructured Hematite for Degradation of Dye Contaminant

Abstract

Nanostructured hematite materials for advanced applications are conventionally prepared with the presence of additives, tainting its purity with remnants of copolymer surfactants, active chelating molecules, stabilizing agents, or co-precipitating salts. Thus, preparing nanostructured hematite via additive-free and green synthesis methods remains a huge hurdle. This study presents an environmentally friendly and facile synthesis of spherical nanostructured hematite (Sp-HNP) using rice starch-assisted synthesis. The physicochemical properties of the Sp-HNP were investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DR UV-Vis), and nitrogen adsorption–desorption analysis. The Sp-HNP showed a well-crystallized structure of pure rhombohedral phase, having a spherical-shaped morphology from 24 to 48 nm, and a surface area of 20.04 m2/g. Moreover, the Sp-HNP exhibited enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye, owing to the large surface-to-volume ratio. The current work has provided a sustainable synthesis route to produce spherical nanostructured hematite without the use of any hazardous agents or toxic additives, in agreement with the principles of green chemistry for the degradation of dye contaminant.

Preparation of Magnetic Fe3O4/MIL-88A Nanocomposite and Its Adsorption Properties for Bromophenol Blue Dye in Aqueous Solution

“…Dyes usually have complex aromatic molecular structures which make them more stable and more difficult to biodegrade. As the diversity of textile products increases, different dyestuffs with highly varying chemical characteristics are used in industry, complicating further treatments of textile wastewater [2]. The direct discharge of colored and toxic wastewater into the environment affects its ecological status by causing various undesirable changes [3].…”

Magnetic properties of hematite (α − Fe2O3) nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel synthesis method: The influence of particle size and particle size distribution

“…The investigations of iron(III) oxide nanoparticles and their physical properties have attracted considerable attention in recent years [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Iron(III) oxides show remarkable magnetic properties, both for fundamental investigations and practical applications.…”

Synthesis of silver nanostructures in ionic liquid media and their application to photodegradation of methyl orange

“…The spherical Ag NPs were expected to demonstrate promising catalytic capability, especially when the spherical morphology can facilitate the optimum charge migration without any diffusion limitations of reactant molecules. 34 Secondly, effective catalytic activity of the Ag nanostructures for the photodegradation of MO under solar light irradiation is dependent on a large BET surface area. As shown in Table 1, the Ag NPs synthesized using NaBH 4 had a surface area of 7.54 m 2 /g, which was three times larger than that of the Ag NPls synthesized using hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent.…”