Biogenic synthesis of husked rice-shaped iron oxide nanoparticles using coconut pulp (Cocos nucifera L.) extract for photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B dye and their in vitro antibacterial and anticancer activity

In this present study, photocatalytic and in-vitro biological properties of biogenic preparation of husked rice-shaped iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3 NPs) are investigated. Fe2O3 NPs have been prepared by the reduction of iron chloride (FeCl3) using coconut pulp (Cocos nucifera L.) extract. The Fe2O3 NPs were characterized by various analytical techniques such as FE-SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR, TGA, VSM, PL, and UV-DRS. Based on the characterization results, the as-prepared Fe2O3 NPs are in husked rice shape and exhibit rhombohedral crystal phase and also show an excellent stability. The prepared Fe2O3 NPs was investigated as a catalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B solution. The photocatalytic results indicated that the Fe2O3 NPs catalyst possesses good activity with efficiency of 92% after 50 min under visible-light irradiation. In addition, the Fe2O3 NPs showed good antibacterial and anticancer properties against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive, Staphylococcus aureus and HepG2 cell lines, resulting in effective antibacterial and anticancer activity. The prepared Fe2O3 NPs, thus, proved to be a potential material for environmental remediation and biological applications. (C) 2021 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.