Solar light-activated ZnO/g-C3N4 nanocomposites with improved water pollutant treatment and antibacterial efficiency

IF 2.6 4区材料科学 Q3 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Journal of Nanoparticle Research Pub Date : 2025-09-10 DOI:10.1007/s11051-025-06419-7

Kanagaraj Narayanan, Krishnan Senthil Murugan, Murugan Sutharsan, Molly Thomas, Thillai Sivakumar Natarajan

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Synthetic organic dyes released from industries pose significant environmental and health hazards due to their toxicity, persistence, and resistance to conventional degradation processes. Traditional water treatment methods often suffer from limited efficiency, high energy requirements, and an inability to simultaneously remove both chemical and microbial contaminants. So, in this study, a solar light active ZnO/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposite was developed using a combination of sol–gel-combustion-impregnation methods, which showed an excellent water pollutant treatment and antibacterial efficiency. The catalytic activity of ZnO, g-C₃N₄, and ZnO/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposite was investigated by the degradation of aqueous solution of methylene blue (MB), rhodamine B (RhB), and malachite green (MG) dyes under direct sunlight irradiation. Further, the effect of operational parameters such as catalyst dosage, pH of dye solution, and initial dye concentration on the photocatalytic degradation efficiency were studied. The result revealed that ZnO/g-C₃N₄ (1:1.0) nanocomposite exhibited higher degradation efficiency towards dyes and the order of catalytic activity is ZnO/g-C₃N₄ (1:1.0) > ZnO/g-C₃N₄ (1:1.5) > ZnO/g-C₃N₄ (1:0.5) > g-C₃N₄ > ZnO, respectively. The 10 mg/L initial dye concentration, 50 mg catalyst dosage, and pH 9 are the optimized reaction parameters for highest photocatalytic activity with excellent reproducibility. The degradation was confirmed by kinetic analysis and proposed a possible mechanism for degradation. In addition, the catalytic active ZnO/g-C₃N₄ (1:1.0) nanocomposite displayed excellent antibacterial activity against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus) and gram-negative (Vibrio alginolyticus and Klebsiella pneumonia) bacteria. The result concludes that ZnO/g-C₃N₄ nanocomposites are an efficient solar light-activated photocatalyst and excellent anti-bacterial agents under present experimental conditions.

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太阳光敏氧化锌/g-C3N4纳米复合材料对水污染物处理和抗菌性能的改善

工业释放的合成有机染料由于其毒性、持久性和对常规降解过程的抗性，对环境和健康构成重大危害。传统的水处理方法往往存在效率有限、能耗高、不能同时去除化学和微生物污染物等问题。因此，本研究采用溶胶-凝胶-燃烧-浸渍相结合的方法制备了太阳能光活性ZnO/g-C3N4纳米复合材料，该复合材料具有良好的水污染物处理和抗菌效果。通过对亚甲基蓝（MB）、罗丹明B （RhB）和孔雀石绿（MG）染料水溶液的直接日光照射，考察了ZnO、g-C3N4和ZnO/g-C3N4纳米复合材料的催化活性。进一步研究了催化剂用量、染料溶液pH、初始染料浓度等操作参数对光催化降解效率的影响。结果表明，ZnO/g-C3N4（1:1.0）纳米复合材料对染料的降解效率较高，催化活性顺序依次为ZnO/g-C3N4 (1:1.0) > ZnO/g-C3N4 (1:1.5) > g-C3N4 > ZnO。初始染料浓度为10 mg/L，催化剂用量为50 mg，反应pH为9时，光催化活性最高，重现性好。动力学分析证实了其降解作用，并提出了可能的降解机理。此外，催化活性ZnO/g-C3N4（1:1.0）纳米复合材料对革兰氏阳性菌（金黄色葡萄球菌和蜡样芽孢杆菌）和革兰氏阴性菌（溶藻弧菌和肺炎克雷伯菌）具有良好的抗菌活性。结果表明，在本实验条件下，ZnO/g-C3N4纳米复合材料是一种高效的太阳光活化光催化剂和优良的抗菌剂。

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来源期刊

Journal of Nanoparticle Research 工程技术-材料科学：综合

CiteScore

4.40

自引率

4.00%

发文量

198

审稿时长

3.9 months

期刊介绍： The objective of the Journal of Nanoparticle Research is to disseminate knowledge of the physical, chemical and biological phenomena and processes in structures that have at least one lengthscale ranging from molecular to approximately 100 nm (or submicron in some situations), and exhibit improved and novel properties that are a direct result of their small size. Nanoparticle research is a key component of nanoscience, nanoengineering and nanotechnology. The focus of the Journal is on the specific concepts, properties, phenomena, and processes related to particles, tubes, layers, macromolecules, clusters and other finite structures of the nanoscale size range. Synthesis, assembly, transport, reactivity, and stability of such structures are considered. Development of in-situ and ex-situ instrumentation for characterization of nanoparticles and their interfaces should be based on new principles for probing properties and phenomena not well understood at the nanometer scale. Modeling and simulation may include atom-based quantum mechanics; molecular dynamics; single-particle, multi-body and continuum based models; fractals; other methods suitable for modeling particle synthesis, assembling and interaction processes. Realization and application of systems, structures and devices with novel functions obtained via precursor nanoparticles is emphasized. Approaches may include gas-, liquid-, solid-, and vacuum-based processes, size reduction, chemical- and bio-self assembly. Contributions include utilization of nanoparticle systems for enhancing a phenomenon or process and particle assembling into hierarchical structures, as well as formulation and the administration of drugs. Synergistic approaches originating from different disciplines and technologies, and interaction between the research providers and users in this field, are encouraged.