Abstract
The current study, reported the fabrication of bio-nanocomposite catalyst based on sulfated carboxymethyl cellulose (S-CMC) and TiO2 nanoparticles composited with cinnamon bark (CIN) (CIN/S-CMC/TiO2). The prepared CIN/S-CMC/TiO2 bio-nanocomposite was produced as supporting material for the preparation of highly active zero valent metal nanoparticles (MNPs) The CIN/S-CMC/TiO2 loaded with mono Co, Cu and bimetallic Cu-Co metal ions were then reacted with aqueous solution of sodium borohydride in order to reduce the metal ions into their respective zero-valent MNPs (M0). The CIN/S-CMC/TiO2 bio-nanocomposite loaded with mono and bimetallic M0 were analyzed by FTIR, XRD, EDX and FE-SEM, which confirms the successful fabrication of M0 on the surface of CIN/S-CMC/TiO2 bio-nanocomposite. The M0/CIN/S-CMC/TiO2 bio-nanocomposites were utilized as an effective catalyst for the successful reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4NP) and azo dyes such as Congo Red (CR), Methyl Orange (MO) And Acid Red (AR). Among all the fabricated catalysts, Co-Cu/CIN/S-CMC/TiO2 displayed better catalytic activity for the reduction of 4-NP and toxic azo dyes in the existence of sodium borohydride, with apparent constants of 0.99 min−1, 0.747 min−1, 0.621 min−1 and 0.342 min−1 respectively. Despite of having enhanced catalytic capability, the proposed bio-nanocomposite catalyst could be easily recoverable from the reaction solution after complete reduction process and can be used several times for the reduction of new samples.