Abstract
The bare iron oxide (IO) and iron oxide/chitosan (IOC) nanocomposites were prepared by co-precipitation method. The iron oxide and iron oxide-chitosan nanocomposites were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV). The XRD pattern of iron oxide and iron oxide-chitosan nanocomposites reveals the formation of the Fe
3
O
4
structure. Flake and sheet-like morphology were observed for Fe
3
O
4
and Fe
3
O
4
/chitosan nanocomposites. The EDX exhibits the presence of C, O, N, and Fe in the IOC nanoparticles. The optical bandgap energy of Fe
3
O
4
decreased from 2.4 eV to 1.9 eV with the substitution of chitosan. IOC composites shows more than 99% of methylene violet (MV) degradation and 71% of rhodamine B (RhB) degradation. The Kapp rate constant and TOF of IO and IOC catalysts were investigated and discussed in more detail. IOC revealed highest rate constant of 4.12 × 10
−2
min
−1
for MV degradation. In presence of IOC catalysts after three cycles, it revealed 99% of MV and 70% of RhB. The prepared IOC catalyst is efficient to remove organic contaminants from the wastewater.