Phytomediated synthesis of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles using Cannabis sativa root extract: photocatalytic activity and antibacterial efficacy

This study examines the degradation of malachite green by utilizing Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. These nanoparticles were prepared using an extract derived from Cannabis sativa roots. The synthesized catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry to assess their structural, optical, and magnetic properties. The results suggest that the CF2 nanoparticles demonstrate exceptional degrading efficiencies of 87.72% when exposed to UV-visible light. Furthermore, the mildly alkaline conditions were determined to be advantageous for enhancing the efficiency of catalyst degradation (97.55%), as evidenced by the pH variation experiment. The study also included an examination of the main active species and possible photocatalytic mechanism. Furthermore, there was a minimal decrease of just 20.95% in the efficiency of degradation after four rounds of the degradation reusability experiment. Therefore, the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles manufactured using Cannabis sativa roots show potential for use as very effective photocatalysts in the degradation of malachite green. Furthermore, anti-bacterial efficacy was checked against the bacterial strains Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Shigella sonnei, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. This work presents a simple green method for producing innovative Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles as a remarkable nanomaterial for water bodies to degrade hazardous pollutants by visible light photodegradation and as an antibacterial agent.