Enhancement of Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Activities of ZnO:Ag Nanopowders Through the Addition of Bamboo Charcoal: An Efficient Natural Adsorbent

doi:10.1007/s40195-017-0618-z

Abstract

Abstract:

This research article explains the removal of methylene blue (MB) and malachite green (MG) from aqueous solution using adsorption/photodegradation activity of ZnO:Ag/bamboo charcoal (BC) nanocomposite. In addition, the antibacterial studies of the prepared samples were tested against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) Gram-positive and Escherichia coli (E. coli) Gram-negative bacteria by the well diffusion method. The ZnO:Ag/BC nanocomposite exhibits superior photocatalytic activity compared with ZnO:Ag. Remarkable degradation efficiencies of 93.95% (MB) and 95.75% (MG) were recorded for ZnO:Ag/BC nanocomposite after 45 min. The degradation process follows a pseudo-first-order kinetics. The rate constant of ZnO:Ag/BC nanocomposite is two times greater than that of pristine ZnO nanopowder for the degradation of MB dye, while for MG dye degradation, it is three times. It is found that the ZnO:Ag/BC nanocomposite shows a higher rate of dye removal due to excellent adsorbing properties of bamboo charcoal (BC). The ZnO:Ag/BC nanocomposite showed better antibacterial properties compared to ZnO:Ag. In this study, the samples were prepared using a simple and low-cost soft chemical route and they were characterized by optical, structural, surface morphological, antibacterial and photocatalytic properties. These characterization studies substantiate the discussions on the photocatalytic and antibacterial activities of the synthesized samples.

Key words: Bamboo charcoal, Adsorbent, ZnO, Photocatalysis, Antibacterial

K. Nithiyadevi, K. Ravichandran. Enhancement of Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Activities of ZnO:Ag Nanopowders Through the Addition of Bamboo Charcoal: An Efficient Natural Adsorbent[J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2017, 30(12): 1249-1256.

Figures/Tables 12

Fig. 1 XRD patterns of ZnO:Ag and ZnO:Ag/BC nanopowders

Table 1 Structural parameters of the synthesized samples

Sample	D (nm)	Lattice constants		c/a
Sample	D (nm)	a (?)	c (?)	c/a
ZnO:Ag	25.25	3.2342	5.2121	1.6115
ZnO:Ag/BC	24.14	3.2523	5.2078	1.6012

Fig. 2 SEM images of ZnO:Ag and ZnO:Ag/BC nanopowders

Fig. 3 EDX result of ZnO:Ag/BC nanopowder

Fig. 4 Photoluminescence spectra of ZnO:Ag and ZnO:Ag/BC nanopowders

Fig. 5 FTIR spectra of ZnO:Ag and ZnO:Ag/BC nanopowders

Fig. 6 Absorption spectra of aqueous solutions of dye solution in ZnO:Ag and ZnO:Ag/BC nanopowders

Table 2 Photocatalytic degradation efficiencies and rate constant values of the synthesized samples against MB and MG

Catalyst	Degradation efficiency (%)		Rate constant
Catalyst	MB	MG	MB	MG
ZnO:Ag	86.24	88.81	0.0484	0.0379
ZnO:Ag/BC	93.95	95.75	0.0620	0.0511

Fig. 7 Plots of (C/C 0) versus irradiation time (MB and MG) for ZnO:Ag and ZnO:Ag/BC nanopowders

Fig. 8 Photodegradation kinetics of MB and MG using ZnO:Ag and ZnO:Ag/BC nanopowders

Fig. 9 Zone of inhibition caused by ZnO:Ag and ZnO:Ag/BC nanopowders against E. Coli and S. aureus

Table 3 Zone of inhibition observed by ZnO:Ag and ZnO:Ag/BC nanopowders against the tested bacteria (E. coli and S. aureus)

S. no.	Bacteria	Zone of inhibition (diameter in mm)
S. no.	Bacteria	ZnO:Ag	ZnO:Ag/BC
1	E. coli	20	28
2	S. aureus	21	30

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