Green-Synthesized Iron Oxide Nanoparticles from Olive Leaves for Efficient Photocatalytic Degradation of Dyes and Chlorpyrifos

Abstract

This study investigated the green synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles using olive leaf extract and their application in degradation of synthetic dyes and chlorpyrifos. The nanoparticles were characterized by UV–visible spectrophotometry, FTIR, XRD, and SEM. UV–visible analysis revealed a distinct absorption peak near 300 nm, while FTIR confirmed functional groups including hydroxyl, carbonyl, nitrile, and alkyne. XRD showed well-defined diffraction peaks at planes (131), (113/247), (125), (393/138), (622), and (118), indicating a crystalline structure. SEM images revealed uniformly dispersed spherical nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 20 to 100 nm. Under light conditions, the nanoparticles exhibited significant degradation of methyl orange, methyl red, Congo red, and chlorpyrifos, with the highest degradation observed for methyl red (34.28%) and chlorpyrifos (27.38%) after 120 minutes. Our results demonstrate the potential of olive leaf–mediated iron oxide nanoparticles for pollutant degradation, while further studies on mineralization, reusability, and by-product analysis are needed to fully evaluate their environmental applicability.