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• A facile, rapid and green method for the preparation of starch/Fe 3 O 4 /zeolite bionanocomposite (BNC). • Size and dispersion control of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles in the presence of starch as a stabilizer. • Easy magnetic separation of BNC from aqueous solution by permanent magnet. • Non-precious catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline medium. The present work demonstrated an eco-friendly and facile method for the preparation of starch/Fe 3 O 4 /zeolite-bionanocomposite (BNC) at moderate temperature. Zeolite and starch were used as solid support and stabilizer, respectively. The analysis of UV–vis showed the appearance of surface plasmon resonance. From PXRD analysis, the incorporation of magnetite nanoparticles (NPs) in zeolite substrate results in reducing of intensities and broadening of the zeolite peaks of BNC. The TEM analysis showed the formation of highly distributed Fe 3 O 4 -NPs with an average diameter and standard deviation of 9.24 ± 3.57 nm. The FESEM and EDX analyses imply that Fe 3 O 4 -NPs were homogeneously formed on the surface of the zeolite substrate. VSM analysis illustrated the as prepared BNC possessed magnetic behaviour with a saturation magnetization and coercivity of 1.84 emu g−1 and 17.76 G, respectively. The prepared BNC showed potential applicability in energy as low-cost electrode material. The BNC was used as a non-precious catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in the alkaline medium. The presence of starch and zeolite promoted long term stability up to 1000 cycles and avoid the dissolution and agglomeration of iron oxide. The ORR commences at the onset potential of 0 V follows by the two successive reduction peaks at −0.48 V and −1.00 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a green, facile and rapid method to prepare magnetite/zeolite-nanocomposites (NCs) in one step procedure at ambient temperature. The powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) pattern of iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) with the sole zeolite showed the broadening of zeolite peaks attributed to the incorporation of Fe 3 O 4 . Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis depicted that the Fe 3 O 4 ‒NPs were formed on the surface of porous zeolite framework. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis displayed the Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles (NPs) were mostly in spherical shape with a mean diameter and standard deviation of 2.40 ± 0.41 nm. The selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern confirmed the presence of cubic Fe 3 O 4 phase. The vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) results indicated the as-synthesized sample has a saturation magnetization of around 6.52 emu g −1 . The magnetite/zeolite-NCs can be considered as a low-cost alternative catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) process. The electrochemical measurement showed that the performance of magnetite/zeolite-NCs towards the ORR increased as the scan rate increased from 20 mV s −1 to 500 mV s −1 . The ORR is a diffusion-controlled process in the alkaline medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]