A binary polymeric hybrid nanocomposite has been synthesized by simultaneous grafting of vinylic monomers on dextrin, followed by in situ exfoliation of layered titanate (LT) and Zn−Cr layered double hydroxide (LDH) (g-Dext/LT/LDH). Here, the self-assembling between in situ exfoliated titanate and LDH nanosheets has been carried out by monitoring pH between 6.5 and 7, where the oppositely charged nanosheets experience maximum electrostatic interactions among them. The g-Dext/LT/LDH nanohybrid reveals a higher activity around 96% degradation of ciprofloxacin under natural sunlight irradiation in comparison to the bare LT, LDH, and LT/LDH, providing strong evidence for the superiority of the intimate hybridization between two nanosheets. The improvement of photocatalytic performance of g-Dext/LT/ LDH is attributed to the formation of a heterolayer structure by combining oppositely charged nanosheets, which synergistically improves the photocatalysis process by increasing the surface area and optical absorption property via reducing the migration distance of the photogenerated electron−hole pair and efficiently promoting their separation. Additionally, the antibacterial properties of g-Dext/LT/LDH have also been investigated against Bacillus pumilus (Gram-positive) and Enterobacter cloacae (Gram-negative) bacteria by the disc diffusion study.

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This work reports the fabrication of a nanocomposite using carbon dotdeposited γ-FeOOH/polypyrrole composite through a facile in situ growth of γ-FeOOH, polymerization of pyrrole, and deposition of carbon dots (CDs) in a single pot along with its application as a photocatalyst toward degradation of antibiotics under sunlight irradiation. Here, the expired pharmaceutical drugs (waste) were used as a source of the synthesis of CDs to realize a "waste-to-wealth" approach. A series of nanocomposites (PFL/CDs-x; x = 1, 2, 3, and 4) with different γ-FeOOH content have been synthesized, and their photocatalytic activity was studied. Among all composites, PFL/CDs-2 exhibited the highest degradation efficiency of 97% within 90 min. The optimized γ-FeOOH and CD content in PFL/CDs-2 enhanced light trapping, charge separation, surface area, and formation of distinct heterojunction, indicating it as a promising candidate in photocatalysis. The excellent photocatalytic activity of PFL/CDs-2 can be attributed to synergistic enhancement of the light harvesting due to slow photon effect of the γ-FeOOH nanosheet and the inhibited recombination rate of photoexcited charge carriers based on a Z-scheme photocatalytic mechanism. In addition, the antibacterial potential of the synthesized nanocomposite was studied against Bacillus pumilus (Grampositive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) bacteria. Moreover, the PFL/CDs-2 composite was found to be magnetically separable and recycled without a significant loss of photocatalytic efficiency after four cycles, indicating the high reusability and stability of the photocatalyst.

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