Chemical Physics Impact (Jun 2023)
Boosting iron oxide nanoparticles activity for dyes removal and antifungal applications by modifying its surface with polyelectrolytes
Abstract
Here the layer-by-layer technique was used to coat Iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3NPs) with poly (sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) sodium salt (PSS), and poly (allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) polyelectrolytes and we explored the factors and mechanisms of the adsorption, photocatalytic and antifungal activity of nanoparticles. We investigated the adsorption and photocatalytic behaviour of unmodified and surface-modified Fe2O3NPs toward the fluorescein sodium salt (FSS) dye in the dark and under UV light. The uncoated and surface coated Fe2O3NPs show excellent adsorption and photocatalytic action for FSS dye. The adsorption properties of the Fe2O3NPs with FSS dye are well matched by both the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm. The cationic nanoparticles Fe2O3NPs/PSS/PAH and Fe2O3NPs showed a much higher removal percentage for FSS dye than the ones with an anionic nanoparticle Fe2O3NPs/PSS. This study also aims to assess the efficacy of PSS and PAH-modified Fe2O3NPs as antifungal agents. We studied the antifungal action of the PAH‐functionalized Fe2O3NPs against Trichoderma fungus. The effect of these PAH‐surface functionalized Fe2O3NPs was investigated by measuring the growth of the fungus colonies versus time. The PAH‐functionalized Fe2O3NPs presented significant antifungal activity, compared to the untreated fungus sample, bare Fe2O3NPs and Fe2O3NPs/PSS at the same conditions and period of time. This could be explained by the poor adhesion of Fe2O3NPs/PSS to the Trichoderma fungus due to electrostatic repulsion. In contrast, the particle−Trichoderma fungus electrostatic adhesion in the case of cationic Fe2O3NPs/PSS/PAH and bare Fe2O3NPs led to enhanced antifungal activity. These findings might result in the development of more efficient antifungal treatments at lower doses of active agents for fungus control with potentially substantial economic and environmental benefits.
