Preparation of fluorinated zirconia doped with tin oxide nanocomposites for photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes in contaminated water bodies

In this study, a novel SnO2–Zr–F nanostructured composite was successfully synthesized through a mild chemical reaction. The crystalline nature of the composite was characterized using XRD, revealing an average crystalline size of 28.31 nm. FE-SEM images illustrated an agglomerated spherical morphology with appropriate elemental ratios. The optical properties of the nanocomposite are identified by UV–vis spectroscopy with Tauc plot, and the calculated bandgap is 2 eV. Photocatalytic activity was assessed against cationic (Rhodamine B) and anionic (Eosin yellow) dyes under sunlight for 150 min, resulting in a maximum degradation efficiency of 92 % and 98 %, respectively. Furthermore, the antibacterial performance of the composite was evaluated against S. aureus and E. coli bacteria. The findings suggest that the prepared nanocomposite exhibits promising potential for environmental applications, showcasing its efficacy in both photocatalytic and antibacterial domains.