Background:
The study focuses on the synthesis of chitosan/ Fe2O3 nanocomposite, its characterization and
application in methyl orange dye degradation.
Methods:
The synthesized chitosan/ Fe2O3 nanocomposite was
characterized with Powder X-Ray Diffraction, Fourier Transformation Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR),
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and UV-Vis Spectroscopy.
Results:
The characterization
showed that the Fe2O3nanoparticles were embedded in the polymer matrix of chitosan. The size of the
Fe2O3nanoparticles were less than 10nm and the crystallite size was 1.22 nm.The synthesized chitosan/
Fe2O3nanocomposite was tested for methyl orange degradation using different parameters such as effect of contact time,
effect of dose, effect of concentration and effect of pH for the degradation of methyl orange dye in aqueous solution.The
Fruendlich, Langmuir and Temkin isotherm studies were also conducted for adsoption of methyl orange on Chitosan/
Fe2O3nanocomposite.
Conclusion:
The study indicated that the synthesized chitosan/Fe2O3 nanocomposite had
the potential of degrading methyl orange dye up to 75.04% under the set condition in this experiment which indicate that
Chitosan/ Fe2O3 nanocomposite is a viable option that can be used for the degradation of methyl orange dye.
