Effective remediation of organic pollutant using <i>Musa acuminata</i> peel extract-assisted iron oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

Abstract The increasing environmental concerns over wastewater contamination have spurred significant interest in developing efficient and sustainable methods for wastewater treatment. In this study, a simple and user-friendly approach was employed to synthesize iron oxide nanoparticles (IO-NPs) using Musa acuminata peel extract as a reducing and stabilizing agent. The synthesized IO-NPs were thoroughly characterized using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis to investigate their structural, morphological, compositional, and optical properties. The crystallite size was determined to be 38.42 nm, while the particle size was nearly double, at 65.22 nm. The IO-NPs were further evaluated for their photocatalytic efficacy in degrading methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine 6G (R-6G), two common organic dye pollutants. The highest degradation efficiency of 99.42% was achieved for R-6G, while MO showed a degradation of 79.87% within 160 min. Photocatalytic experiments were conducted under varying conditions of catalyst dosage, initial dye concentration, and solution pH to optimize the degradation process. The recycling potential of the IO-NPs was also examined by performing the photocatalytic process over five cycles, demonstrating their reusability and potential for sustainable wastewater treatment.