Eco-conscious synthesis of chitosan-reduced magnetic Iron oxide nanocomposite from crab Shell waste for photocatalytic degradation of textile dyes: Ecotoxicity insights

The advancement of nanocomposites has progressed rapidly in recent years, enabling the efficient removal of anionic textile dyes that pose a detrimental toxicity and a serious threat to the ecosystem. In response to environmental concerns, green synthesis is recognized as a viable and ecologically responsible alternative to synthetic routes. In this study, biopolymers such as crab chitosan, utilized via NADES, have been innovatively employed as a reducing agent. As a result, chitosan-reduced magnetic iron oxide (Cs-RMIO), was systematically synthesized and characterized. This versatile Cs-RMIO nanoplatform could be used as a potential photocatalytic degrading material of textile dyes. The Cs-RMIO also exhibited an exceptional DDE of 96.1 %, 98.9 % and 88.9 % respectively, for the dyes, and showed higher antibacterial and antioxidant activity. The degraded products were also analysed for ecotoxicity in the model organism, C. elegans, for the assessment of neuronal and physiological parameters. The potential harm of degraded products to plant development was assessed by measuring the germination rate and other physical characteristics of V. radiata. Both toxicity models showed no potential effect from Cs-RMIO degraded products, emphasizing the degradation potential of Cs-RMIO NC as a sustainable remediation strategy for textile dye pollution.