Issue 23, 2022

Enhanced photocatalytic and antimicrobial performance of a multifunctional Cu-loaded nanocomposite under UV light: theoretical and experimental study

Abstract

Due to modern industrialization and population growth, access to clean water has become a global challenge. In this study, a metal–semiconductor heterojunction was constructed between Cu NPs and the Co0.5Ni0.5Fe2O4/SiO2/TiO2 composite matrix for the photodegradation of potassium permanganate, hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) and p-nitroaniline (pNA) under UV light. In addition, the electronic and adsorption properties after Cu loading were evaluated using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Moreover, the antimicrobial properties of the prepared samples toward pathogenic bacteria and unicellular fungi were investigated. Photocatalytic measurements show the outstanding efficiency of the Cu-loaded nanocomposite compared to that of bare Cu NPs and the composite matrix. Degradation efficiencies of 44% after 80 min, 100% after 60 min, and 65% after 90 min were obtained against potassium permanganate, Cr(VI), and pNA, respectively. Similarly, the antimicrobial evaluation showed high ZOI, lower MIC, higher protein leakage amount, and cell lysis of nearly all microbes treated with the Cu-loaded nanocomposite.

Graphical abstract: Enhanced photocatalytic and antimicrobial performance of a multifunctional Cu-loaded nanocomposite under UV light: theoretical and experimental study

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 Mrt. 2022
Accepted
17 Mei 2022
First published
18 Mei 2022

Nanoscale, 2022,14, 8306-8317

Enhanced photocatalytic and antimicrobial performance of a multifunctional Cu-loaded nanocomposite under UV light: theoretical and experimental study

M. Abd Elkodous, A. M. El-Khawaga, M. I. A. Abdel Maksoud, G. S. El-Sayyad, N. Alias, H. Abdelsalam, M. A. Ibrahim, M. A. Elsayed, G. Kawamura, Z. Lockman, W. K. Tan and A. Matsuda, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 8306 DOI: 10.1039/D2NR01710E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements