Facile one-pot fabrication of nano-Fe3O4/carboxyl-functionalized baker's yeast composites and their application in methylene blue dye adsorption

Nano-Fe3O4/carboxyl-functionalized baker's yeast composites (NF/CF-BYs) were prepared for the first time based on the ultrasonic cavitation assisted oxygen implosion method using single Fe2+ as iron source. The series of characterization analysis results showed that the obtained NF/CF-BYs had not only the superparamagnetic properties of nano-Fe3O4, but their surface also had plenty of functional groups (especially carboxyl groups) introduced by strong oxidization. The adsorption properties of NF/CF-BYs for methylene blue (MB) were also evaluated. The results displayed that the uptakes of NF/CF-BYs for MB were higher than that of pristine baker's yeast (P-BYs), and the adsorption process was followed by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm. The maximum adsorption capacity of NF/CF-BYs for MB was estimated to be 141.75 mg g−1 at pH 6. The regeneration efficiency of the obtained NF/CF-BYs was attained to be more than 90%.