Supramolecular Fe3O4-gluconic acid@β-cyclodextrin magnetic composite: green synthesis using sucrose and application in removal of p-nitrophenol

• Published in: Journal of environmental chemical engineering 2024-04, Vol.12 (2), p.111503, Article 111503
• Main Authors: Cai, Songtao, Wu, Jinman, Mo, Yaokun, Dai, Yuxuan, Liu, Peng, Luo, Jianxin, Zhang, Chunyan, Liu, Yifei, Liu, Jianjun, Zhang, Qingwen, Du, Fuming, Wang, Yi, Chen, Hu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fe3O4-GA@β-CD; Fenton-like catalysis; Green synthesis; P-nitrophenol (PNP)
• ISSN: 2213-3437; 2213-3437
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2023.111503

A two-pot method is reported for the synthesis of ferric oxide-gluconic acid/β-cyclodextrin (Fe3O4-GA@β-CD). The proposed approach is a green one as the raw material is a natural product (sucrose) and no organic solvent is involved. Meanwhile, this novel composite was demonstrated for catalytic degradation of p-nitrophenol (PNP), a prototype toxic with high toxicity and low degradability. This is realized by H2O2 activation induced by the heterogeneous Fenton-like catalysis of the as-prepared Fe3O4-GA@β-CD nano-microspheres. The results showed that the reaction rate constants of PNP degradation catalyzed by Fe3O4-GA@β-CD and Fe3O4-GA were 0.0879 and 0.0514 min−1, respectively, suggesting improved catalytic performance of Fe3O4-GA@β-CD compared with Fe3O4-GA. This can be attributed to the cavity of β-CD, which can capture and include PNP molecules. The effects of pH value, H2O2 concentration, catalyst load and hydroxyl radical quenching on the Fenton-like catalysis were explored and the optimized conditions (pH value = 2.0, H2O2 concentration = 50 mM, and catalyst load = 1.0 g/L) were determined. Additionally, Fe3O4-GA@β-CD exhibited excellent reusability (catalytic degradation rate = 95.1% after five recycling times) as it can be recycled under external magnetic field owing to its good magnetic response (up to 18.41 emu/g). [Display omitted] •A novel two-pot method for green synthesis of ferric oxide-gluconic acid/β-cyclodextrin (Fe3O4-GA@β-CD) is reported.•Fe3O4-GA@β-CD exhibits enhanced Fenton-like catalytic performance owing to enrichment by the cavity of β-CD, which can capture and include PNP molecules.•The influences of the pH value, the H2O2 concentration, and the catalyst load on the reaction rate constant of degradation of PNP were investigated and their optimized values were determined.