{"title":"Investigation of g-C3N4/Zn-CuO Nanocomposite for the Photocatalytic Efficiency of Rose Bengal and its Antibacterial Properties","authors":"Elavarasan Nagaraj, Ranjith Rajendran, Orawan Rojviroon, Natacha Phetyim, Raguvaran Krishnan, Pazhanivel Thangavelu, Thammasak Rojviroon","doi":"10.1007/s10876-025-02885-0","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In this study, g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by coprecipitation and thermal pyrolysis methods to evaluate their photocatalytic and antibacterial activities. The synthesized nanocomposites were comprehensively analyzed through X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence techniques to evaluate their structural, chemical, morphological and optical properties. X-ray diffraction confirmed the successful incorporation of Zn-doped CuO and g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>. The morphology showed a well-dispersed hybrid structure in which the components are in close interfacial contact. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy revealed a red shift and a narrow band gap in the g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites compared to pure g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> and CuO, which significantly enhanced the light absorption ability. Photoluminescence analysis revealed the suppressed electron-hole pair recombination in the g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites. The g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance, achieving up to 88.47% degradation of Rose Bengal dye within 120 min. Furthermore, g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites exhibited significant antibacterial efficacy with larger zones of inhibition against <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> (9 ± 0.41 mm) compared to <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (8 ± 0.52 mm) at a concentration of 100 μg.mL<sup>-1</sup>. The enhanced performance can be attributed to the synergistic interaction between g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> and Zn-doped CuO, which improves the charge separation efficiency and also enhances the photocatalytic performance. This work highlights the potential of g-C<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites as efficient and sustainable materials for environmental and biomedical applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":618,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cluster Science","volume":"36 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Cluster Science","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10876-025-02885-0","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, INORGANIC & NUCLEAR","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
In this study, g-C3N4/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites were successfully synthesized by coprecipitation and thermal pyrolysis methods to evaluate their photocatalytic and antibacterial activities. The synthesized nanocomposites were comprehensively analyzed through X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence techniques to evaluate their structural, chemical, morphological and optical properties. X-ray diffraction confirmed the successful incorporation of Zn-doped CuO and g-C3N4. The morphology showed a well-dispersed hybrid structure in which the components are in close interfacial contact. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy revealed a red shift and a narrow band gap in the g-C3N4/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites compared to pure g-C3N4 and CuO, which significantly enhanced the light absorption ability. Photoluminescence analysis revealed the suppressed electron-hole pair recombination in the g-C3N4/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites. The g-C3N4/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites exhibited excellent photocatalytic performance, achieving up to 88.47% degradation of Rose Bengal dye within 120 min. Furthermore, g-C3N4/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites exhibited significant antibacterial efficacy with larger zones of inhibition against Klebsiella pneumoniae (9 ± 0.41 mm) compared to Staphylococcus aureus (8 ± 0.52 mm) at a concentration of 100 μg.mL-1. The enhanced performance can be attributed to the synergistic interaction between g-C3N4 and Zn-doped CuO, which improves the charge separation efficiency and also enhances the photocatalytic performance. This work highlights the potential of g-C3N4/Zn-doped CuO nanocomposites as efficient and sustainable materials for environmental and biomedical applications.
期刊介绍：
The journal publishes the following types of papers: (a) original and important research;
(b) authoritative comprehensive reviews or short overviews of topics of current
interest; (c) brief but urgent communications on new significant research; and (d)
commentaries intended to foster the exchange of innovative or provocative ideas, and
to encourage dialogue, amongst researchers working in different cluster
disciplines.
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