Nano‐titania composites assembled with variable weight percentages (wt%) of graphene oxide (GO) were synthesized, and their effectiveness as photocatalysts was investigated for the degradation of indigo carmine under visible light irradiation. Controlled hydrolysis of titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) was performed in aqueous medium, and 1% aqueous solution of GO was added under ultrasonication. Depending on the wt% of GO, the materials were designated as 1, 2, 5, 10, 15 wt%GO–nano‐titania (GO–NT) composites. Their morphology and structural properties were characterized using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV–vis DRS), high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and field‐emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM). Excellent photocatalytic activity was demonstrated by the NT composite containing 10%GO in 60 min, and the required optimum conditions were established.
The anti-fungal activity towards the elimination of the fungus Candida albicans and Candida rugosa and anti-bacterial activity for the removal of gram-negative Escherichia coli, gram-positive Staphylococcus aurues bacteria were evaluated with the graphene oxide-TiO2 nanocomposites. These nanocomposites contain a fixed weight of titania with variable weight % of graphene oxide (1%, 5 %, 10 %, 15%). The photocatalytic activity of these composites has been evaluated earlier towards the degradation of different organic dyes. In the present work, their biological activity was determined. It was observed that the micro-organisms removal was higher in the presence of graphene oxide than with the bare nanotitania particles. Further, the removal has increased with increase in the wt.% of graphene oxide in the nanocomposites. Superior anti-microbial activity was shown by composite with 10 wt.% graphene oxide. In the studies, anti-bacterial performance was observed to be greater than the anti-fungal activity with the nanocomposites.
Nanocomposites assembled with TiO2 and graphene were synthesised under solvent free conditions. The calcinated nanocomposites have been characterized by PXRD, SEM-EDAX, HRTEM and Nitrogen adsorption-desorption techniques. Nanotitania was found to be formed in anatase phase with larger surface area (268.2 m2g-1) and with increase in graphene content, the absorbance increased towards visible region. Their biological applicability has been evaluated by examining their anti-bacterial activity against E. coli (ATCC29181), S. aurues (ATCC6538) and their anti-fungal activity against C. albicans, C. rugosa (ATCC10231) organisms. It has been observed that the biological activity has increased with increase in % graphene from 0.1 to 0.5 and showed a steady decrease with 1.0 % graphene. Compared, to the anti-fungal activity, anti-bacterial activity was identified to be major in the present studies.
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