A Review of Iron polyphenol green nanomaterials and their environmental applications

Iron–polyphenol green nanomaterials have evolved as a promising class of sustainable materials due to its low toxicity, ecofriendly, and low-cost characteristics. This review investigates the synthesis, characterization, and prospective environmental implications of iron–plant polyphenol complexes, with precise prominence on their function as green nanomaterials. Polyphenols developed from plant sources such phenolic acids act as natural antioxidant, and stabilizing agents, allowing formation of iron-based nanostructures under mild and environment friendly conditions. The review also enlightens the basic mechanisms governing iron–polyphenol complexation, including redox interactions, coordination reactions, and antioxidant activity, which mutually control material stability and reactivity. Moreover, the review also imparts special focus on environmental applications, especially in wastewater treatments, where such nanomaterials validate high efficacy for remediation from heavy metals, dyes, nutrients, and even emerging contaminants through adsorption, and redox transformation. Their versatility goes beyond water treatment to beneficial agricultural applications, where iron–polyphenol complexes enhance bioavailability of micronutrient, soil health, and plant stress resistance. Furthermore, the intrinsic antimicrobial properties of polyphenols, synergistically improves by iron-mediated reactive oxygen species production, are reviewed in the context of bacterial resistance by damaging their cells. Conclusively, this review highlights the prospectives of iron–polyphenol green nanomaterials as economical, biodegradable, and scalable substitutes to conventional synthetic nanomaterials. Current challenges, knowledge gaps, and future research directions related to material optimization, environmental fate, and large-scale implementation are also discussed to facilitate their transition from laboratory research to real-world applications.