Facile synthesis of Ag@ZIF-8 photocatalyst with superior wastewater treatment, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties

Abstract

The scarcity of water has emerged as a critical concern; an economical purification method is greatly valued. This study reports on the facile synthesis of novel Ag@ZIF-8 photocatalyst via chemical reduction method. The synthesized nanocomposite exhibited a rhomboid dodecahedron structure measuring 400 nm. The crystalline structure was evaluated using X-ray diffraction (XRD). EDAX analysis was utilized to study and evaluate the chemical composition of Ag@ZIF-8. Silver doping content of 5 wt % was verified using inductivity coupled plasma -optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Furthermore, the photo-assisted degradation of Eriochrome cyanin R (ECR) under visible and UV irradiation was investigated. The high photocatalytic efficacy effectively eliminated about 96.8 % of the 5.0 mg/L ECR using 10 mg of Ag@ZIF-8 at pH 5 under Visible light irradiation. The highest photocatalytic degradation of ECR at pH 5.0 could be correlated to electrostatic attraction between positively charged Ag@ZIF-8 catalyst surface and negatively charged ECR ions. Ag@ZIF-8 show good performance stability (70%) after five cycles of photocatalytic degradation of ECR dye. Silver doping endows the material with significant antimicrobial activity. Ag@ZIF-8 nanocomposite displayed great activity against gram-positive (S. aureus), and Gram-negative (E. coli) bacteria with a zone of inhibition (ZOI) mm value of 24.0 ± 0.44 and 13 ± 0.32 mm, respectively. Ag@ZIF-8's antioxidant activity was assessed and compared to ZIF-8, showing much higher ABTS radical scavenging (97.5% vs. 56.5%). These findings suggest that Ag@ZIF-8 holds promise not only for advanced wastewater treatment but also for biological and biomedical applications.