Green synthesis of iron nanoparticles by Terminalia arjuna bark extract and photodegradation of rose bengal

In this study, iron nanoparticles (FeNPs) were synthesized by green route under microwave irradiation. Terminalia arjuna bark extract was used for synthesis, which acts as reducing and stabilizing agent. The synthesized FeNPs were characterised by UV-Visible spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), BET surface area and UV-DRS (diffuse reflectance spectrophotometer). The absorption spectra of FeNPs showed a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at 280 nm. The photocatalytic activity of rose bengal by FeNPs was studied under sunlight and UV light (250 W) of photocatalytic reactor. The percentage of photodegradation of RB was 83 % and 95 %, in about 240 min and 200 min in sunlight and UV light, respectively. The photocatalytic degradation of RB by Fe NPs follows pseudo-first order kinetics. The photodegradation of RB was confirmed by LC-MS analysis.