Sustainable Advanced Fenton-like Catalysts Based on Mussel-Inspired Magnetic Cellulose Nanocomposites to Effectively Remove Organic Dyes and Antibiotics
Guihua Wang, Jun Xiang, Jiayou Lin, Lin Xiang, Sheng Chen, Bin Yan, Haojun Fan, Suojiang Zhang, Xingwei Shi
Abstract
The development of biocompatible advanced Fenton-like catalysts with high catalytic activity, good stability, and recyclability using sustainable biosourced materials is of considerable interest yet remains a challenge. Herein, we develop a novel mussel-inspired magnetic cellulose nanocomposite (MCNF/PDA) with carboxylated cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and explore as advanced Fenton-like catalysts to effectively degrade organic dyes and antibiotics. The MCNF/PDA nanocomposites were prepared by anchoring Fe3O4 nanoparticles to CNFs via chemical deposition followed with PDA coatings. The composites exhibit an excellent degradation activity toward methylene blue (MB) in a wide pH range of 2–10 in the presence of H2O2 and have a maximum degradation capacity of 2265 mg/g. Moreover, the MCNF/PDA nanocatalysts are highly stable and can be easily regenerated. After four cycles, it can still achieve the removal rate as high as 95%. In addition, the MCNF/PDA nanocatalysts also demonstrate an excellent degradation performance to the antibiotic tetracycline. This work provides new insights into fabricating biocompatible cellulosic-based advanced Fenton catalysts with sustainable biomass-derived materials to efficiently remove organic pollutants from wastewater.