Magnetically recoverable multifunctional ZnS/Ag/CoFe2O4 nanocomposite for sunlight driven photocatalytic dye degradation and bactericidal application

Publication date: Available online 18 October 2019Source: Journal of Physics and Chemistry of SolidsAuthor(s): G. Palanisamy, K. Bhuvaneswari, A. Chinnadurai, G. Bharathi, T. PazhanivelAbstractSunlight driven photocatalysis is the next step of environmental remediation, which can utilize the renewable energy to cure environmental problems. Herein we report a magnetically recoverable ZnS/Ag/CoFe2O4 nanocomposite photocatalyst for sunlight driven photocatalytic dye degradation. The composition, structure, morphology, magnetic and photophysical properties of the as prepared samples were investigated by a wide range of characterization methods. The ZnS/Ag/CoFe2O4 nanocomposite demonstrated sunlight driven photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of two different organic dye pollutants. The radical scavenging tests were conducted to examine the role of different radicals in degrading the dye pollutants. With demonstrated ferromagnetic behavior, the ZnS/Ag/CoFe2O4 nanocomposite was magnetically recoverable using a commercial bar magnet. The antibacterial activity of the nanocomposite were also examined against both G+ (Staphylococcus aureus) and G− (Escherichia coli) bacteria's. Relatively, the ZnS/Ag/CoFe2O4 nanocomposite showed better antibacterial activity as compared to CoFe2O4 NPs and Ag/CoFe2O4 samples.Graphical abstract
Source: Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids - Category: Physics Source Type: research