Renewable hybrid nanocatalyst from magnetite and cellulose for treatment of textile effluents.

A hybrid catalyst was prepared using cellulose nanofibrils and magnetite to degrade organic compounds. Cellulose nanofibrils were isolated by mechanical defibrillation producing a suspension used as a matrix for magnetite particles. The solution of nanofibrils and magnetite was dried and milled resulting in a catalyst with a 1:1 ratio of cellulose and magnetite that was chemically and physically characterized using light, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopies, specific surface area analysis, vibrating sample magnetometry, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, catalytic potential and degradation kinetics.