Degradation of Acid Red 1 Catalyzed by Peroxidase Activity of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Detected by SERS

Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MIONPs) were synthesized using tannic acid and characterized by Raman, FTIR, UV, and DRX spectroscopy. In a heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction, the catalytic peroxidase-like activity of MIONPs in the degradation of Acid Red 1 (AR 1) dye was investigated. TEM/STEM was used to determine the quasi-spherical morphology and particle size (3.2 nm) of the synthesized MIONPs. The XRD powder patterns were indexed according to the reverse spinel structure of magnetite, and SEM-EDS analysis confirmed their chemical composition. At pH = 3.5, the decomposition of H2O2 in hydroxyl radicals by MIONPs results in high AR 1 degradation (99%). This behavior was attributed to the size and surface properties of the MIONPs. Finally, the Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) technique detected intermediary compounds in the degradation process.