Performance of cellulose acetate-ferric oxide nanocomposite supported metal catalysts toward the reduction of environmental pollutants.

Water contamination by toxic compounds has become one of the most serious problems worldwide. Catalytic reduction using metal nanoparticles offer opportunities for environmental benefits. In this study, cellulose acetate-ferric oxide nanocomposite (CA/Fe2O3) was prepared and used as support for metal nanoparticles. After adsorption of Ag, Cu or Ni ions from aqueous solutions, metal ions associated with CA/Fe2O3 were treated with sodium borohydride to prepare Ag, Cu and Ni nanoparticles loaded CA/Fe2O3. The CA/Fe2O3 supported Ag, Cu or Ni nanoparticles was evaluated as a catalyst for pollutants degradation. Silver nanoparticles (Ag@CA/Fe2O3) exhibit remarkable decomposition for methyl orange dye and p-nitrophenol in short time. The rate constant for methyl orange and p-nitrophenol were 8.58×10-3 and 4.77×10-3s-1, respectively. Besides the good catalytic activities of Ag@CA/Fe2O3, the catalyst could be easily recovered from the reaction medium by pulling the catalyst after completion of the reduction reaction. The recovered catalyst can be recycled several times if their exposure time to air was minimal.