Green biosynthesis of Fe3O4 nanoparticles using Chlorella vulgaris extract for enhancing degradation of 2,4 dinitrophenol

Objectives: This study aimed to provide the excellent role of Chlorella vulgaris extract as a green, reduc-ing agent for improving and enhancing the effectiveness and performance of as-prepared NPs, which is higher than bare Fe3O4. Methods: The extract of the algal cell of Chlorella vulgaris is used as a green, reducing agent was used to prepare green Fe3O4 NPs to improve and enhance the degradation effectiveness of 2,4 dinitrophenol (2,4 DNP) in their aqueous solution using UV irradiation. The as-synthesized bare Fe3O4 and green Fe3O4 NPs were characterized using UV-VIS spectroscopy, TEM, SEM, EDX, XRD, and FT-IR spectroscopy to deter-mine bandgap energy, particle size, structural morphology, crystallite nature, phase structure, elemental compositions, and existed functional group. Results: SEM and TEM images indicated that the as-synthesized NPs have a regular spherical shape with a mean size ranging between 13.68 and 31.71 nm. The energy bandgap (Eg) indicated the green Fe3O4 NPs have low values (2.73 and 2.3 eV) than bare Fe3O4 (2.89 eV). The maximum degradation of 2,4 DNP was achieved at pH = 8, 90 min contact time, 0.35 g/L catalyst dose, and 100 mg/L 2,4 DNP concentration. Conclusion: The degradation results proved that green Fe3O4 NPs have more effectiveness than bare Fe3O4 NPs. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study aimed to explore the use of Chlorella vulgaris extract as a green reducing agent to improve the effectiveness of prepared Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs). The extract was used to synthesize green Fe3O4 NPs, which showed enhanced degradation of 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP). The results demonstrated that the green Fe3O4 NPs were more effective than bare Fe3O4 NPs. Rating: 7 out of 10.