Green synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles using <i>Artemisia vulgaris</i> leaf extract and their application as a heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for the degradation of methyl orange

Abstract

In this paper, we report, for the first time, a simple and eco-friendly method for green synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) using Artemisia vulgaris leaf extract as a reducing agent. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by TEM, PSA, XRD, FTIR, VSM, and TGA analysis. The synthesized IONPs were mostly of spherical shape with sizes in the range of less than 30 nm and surrounded by a layer of biological compounds. Also, we applied these synthesized Fe NPs as a Fenton-like catalyst to degrade the methyl orange dye (MO) in the aqueous solution. The results fantastically indicated that 98.6% of the total MO was removed in the solution containing the IONPs with H2O2 after a 6 h reaction. So, the IONPs green synthesized by Artemisia vulgaris extract has the potential to serve as the efficient catalyst for environmental remediation.