One-Pot Synthesis of Highly Active and Uniform Fe3O4 Nanocatalyst for Pyrolytic Decomposition of Peanut Shells

The catalytic pyrolysis of bio-mass can contribute in environmental protection and energy development for the present society. Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles as a catalyst is synthesized from Fe(NO 3 )⋅9H 2 O and FeF 3 ⋅3H 2 O with different precipitating agents (NaOH, KOH, NH 4 OH, and RbOH) in the presence of oleic acid as stabilizer. The SEM and XRD data show that iron oxide nanoparticles obtain with NH 4 OH display smaller spherical particles with large surface area and high crystalinity correspondingly which is further used for catalytic thermal decomposition of peanut shell to obtain bio-oil. The catalyst is applied under different conditions to determine their optimum concentration, reaction temperature, and reaction time. The data show that optimum amount of catalyst is 10% for thermal decomposition of peanut shells; and the optimum temperature for this reaction is 400 o C with optimized reaction time of 30 min to give maximum amount of oil. In addition, the as-obtain oil is also applied for antibacterial application, which show outstanding better response against microbes as compare to DMSO. The oil obtained has potential of antibacterial activity which may lead to the formulation of new antibacterial drugs to treat various bacterial infections and this outcome may find applications in waste management to reduce environmental pollution.