| Summary: | To rapidly obtain a stable Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>@cellulose heterogeneous Fenton catalyst, a novel in situ chemical co-precipitation method was developed. Compared with mechanical activation (MA)-pretreated cellulose (MAC), MA + FeCl<sub>3</sub> (MAFC)-pretreated cellulose (MAFCC) was more easily dissolved and uniformly distributed in NaOH/urea solvent. MAFCC and MAC solutions were used as precipitators to prepare Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>@MAFCC and Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>@MAC nanocomposites, respectively. MAFCC showed stronger interaction and more uniform combination with Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles than MAC, implying that MAFC pretreatment enhanced the accessibility, reactivity, and dissolving capacity of cellulose thus, provided reactive sites for the in situ growth of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles on the regenerated cellulose. Additionally, the catalytic performance of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>@MAFCC nanocomposite was evaluated by using for catalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB), and Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>@MAC nanocomposite and Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles were used for comparative studies. Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>@MAFCC nanocomposite exhibited superior catalytic activity for the degradation and mineralization of MB in practical applications. After ten cycles, the structure of Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>@MAFCC nanocomposite was not significantly changed owing to the strong interaction between MAFCC and Fe<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> nanoparticles. This study provides a green pathway to the fabrication of a stable nanocomposite catalyst with high catalytic performance and reusability for the degradation of organic pollutants.
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