Methyl Orange Degradation by Green Synthesized Iron Oxide Nanoparticles by Syzygium aromaticum

Abstract

Water contamination due to textile dyes is considered carcinogenic to the environment and living organisms. Many textile dyes resist degradation, and the degradation by-products of the textile dye cause severe effects on the ecosystems. Iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using Syzygium aromaticum extract to address this issue. Herein, the azo dye methyl orange (MO) degradation by the green synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles (GINPs) was investigated. The synthesized GINPs were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The results showed a successful synthesis and fabrication of GINPs by the S. aromaticum extract with the size ranging from nano to micro-region. A 100 ppm of MO was degraded up to 43 ppm in the first 20 min and reached equilibrium at 120 min, and the dye was degraded up to 40 ppm by the GINPs. At the equilibrium stage, 50 % of MO was degraded with a dosage (~20 ± 1 mg) of the GINPs, indicating the capability of GINPs in MO degradation compared to chemically synthesized zero-valent iron nanoparticles (CINPs).