Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Iran Polym J DOI 10.1007/s13726-017-0546-9 ORIGINAL PAPER Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles coated by new functionalized tetraaza‑2,3 dialdehyde micro‑crystalline cellulose: synthesis, characterization, and catalytic application for degradation of Acid Yellow 17 Rahma Mehdaoui 1  · Amel El Ghali 1  · Wissem Cheikhrouhou 2  · Emmanuel Beyou 3  · Mohamed Hassen V. Baouab 1   Received: 13 January 2017 / Accepted: 5 July 2017 © Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute 2017 sample magnetometry (VSM) of [Bz-(PDA-g-DAC)@ Fe 3 O 4 ] magnetic nanocomposite samples showed the typi- cal behavior of ferromagnetism. This study provided a green and facile method to inhibit magnetic nanoparticle aggregation. Activity results revealed that the prepared [Bz-(PDA-g-DAC)@Fe 3 O 4 ] catalyst shows the maximum activity for degradation of Acid Yellow 17 (AY17) com- pared to other prepared catalysts. After degradation reac- tion, the [Bz-(PDA-g-DAC)@Fe 3 O 4 ] catalyst was recov- ered from the reaction mixture via an external magnet and used for further five consecutive cycles with excellent cat- alytic activity, successively, which was comparable to the fresh catalyst. The catalyst degradation efficiency and its easy separation exhibited that [Bz-(PDA-g-DAC)@Fe 3 O 4 ] catalyst is a promising material for the removal of AY17 from aqueous solutions in green chemistry perspectives. Keywords Schiff base · Biopolymers · Coatings · Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles · Tetraaza macrocycles · Catalytic properties Introduction The synthesis and characterization of magnetic nanocom- posites from polymeric matrixes have recently attracted the attention of researchers [1] as they are widely applied in different applications due to their considerable perfor- mance, such as high-density data magnetic recording media [2], catalysis [3], magnetic fluids [4], image-intensifying agents for nuclear magnetic resonance imaging [5], medical diagnosis, and magnetic-induced cancer therapy [6, 7]. Among iron oxides and ferrites, magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ) has attracted increased attention owing to its significant mag- netism and particular crystallographic properties [8]. Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles are synthesized via a classic Abstract In this study, we developed an original approach for preparing cellulose-coated magnetite nano- particles (NPs). Two novel Schiff bases (PDA-g-DAC) and [Bz-(PDA-g-DAC)] were synthesized via condensa- tion reactions of periodate oxidized micro-crystalline cel- lulose (DAC) with o-phenylene diamine (PDA) to obtain its azomethine derivative with 85% yield. Subsequently, the functionalization of (PDA-g-DAC) with benzil (Bz) yields the tetraaza macrocycle [Bz-(PDA-g-DAC)]. The physico- chemical characterization of the condensation products was performed using 13 CNMR, FTIR, ATG, DSC, and X-ray diffraction techniques. Magnetic nanomaterial-based Schiff base cellulose was successfully prepared using in situ chemical co-precipitation of coordinated ferric and ferrous ions in cellulose Schiff base matrix under optimized condi- tions, and then, its magnetic properties were characterized. The results demonstrated that the Fe 3 O 4 NPs coated with [Bz-(PDA-g-DAC)] were homogeneously coated in the matrix under ultrasonic irradiation with the saturation mag- netization of 69.50 emu g −1 . In addition, XRD line broad- ening analysis showed that the average particle size of the NPs was 37.3 nm. Furthermore, FTIR spectra demonstrated that [Bz-(PDA-g-DAC)] concavity was anchored to mag- netite Fe 3 O 4 NPs through azomethine groups. Vibrating * Mohamed Hassen V. Baouab hbaouab@yahoo.fr 1 Laboratoire de Microélectronique et instrumentation (LR13ES12), F.S.M., University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia 2 Laboratoire de Physique des matériaux (LPM), F.S.S., University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia 3 Laboratoire Ingénierie des matériaux polymères (UMR 5223), University Claude Bernard Lyon I, Villeurbanne, France