Effect of CeO2-ZnO Nanocomposite for Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Activities

Abstract

The impact of a CeO2-ZnO nanocomposite on the photocatalytic and antibacterial properties compared to bare ZnO was investigated. A CeO2-ZnO nanocomposite was synthesized using Acacia nilotica fruit extract as a novel fuel by a simple solution combustion method. The obtained CeO2-ZnO nanocomposite was confirmed structurally by XRD, FTIR, Raman and UV-DRS and morphologically by SEM/TEM analysis. The XRD pattern indicates the presence of both hexagonal Wurtzite-structured ZnO (major) and cubic-phase CeO2 (minor). FTIR shows the presence of a Ce-O-Ce vibration at 468 cm−1 and Zn-O vibration at 445 cm−1. The existence of a band at 460 cm−1 confirmed the F2g Raman-active mode of the fluorite cubic crystalline structure for CeO2. Diffused reflectance spectroscopy was used to estimate the bandgap (Eg) from Kubelka–Munk (K–M) theory which was found to be 3.4 eV. TEM analysis shows almost spherical-shaped particles, at a size of about 10–15 nm. The CeO2-ZnO nanocomposite shows a good BET specific surface area of 30 m2g−1. The surface defects and porosity of the CeO2-ZnO nanocomposite caused methylene blue (MB) dye to degrade under sunlight (88%) and UV light (92%). The CeO2-ZnO nanocomposite also exhibited considerable antibacterial activity against a pathogenic bacterial strain.

Influence of sulfur source on properties of CuSbS2 particles

“…Where, Eg is the band gap, hv is the photon energy, A is a constant [21]. The band gaps of samples are 1.42 eV (for thiourea), 1.40 eV (for L-cysteine) and 1.39 eV (3-mercaptopropionic).…”

Recent Progress of Advanced Metal-Oxide Nanocomposites for Effective and Low-Cost Antimicrobial Activates: A Review

“…The inhibition zones of the bacterial strains measured at 500 and 1,000 µg concentrations show an increase in antibacterial activity of the nanocomposite with the concentration. The nanocomposite also exhibited better antibacterial performance than pure ZnO and CeO 2 NPs [75]. In this year, Sunaryono et al successfully synthesized ZnO/TiO 2 nanocomposite by coprecipitation method.…”

The La+3-, Nd+3-, Bi+3-Doped Ceria as Mixed Conductor Materials for Conventional and Single-Component Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

“…The changes in crystal lattices and oxygen vacancies caused by the dopants in each A 2 Ce 2 O 7−δ powder were studied by Raman spectroscopy. Figure 9 [43], a well-crystallized CeO 2 with an ideal cubic fluorite structure possesses only one Raman-active F 2g mode at ~460 cm −1 , matching the Ce-O bond vibration. Therefore, the existence of a peak near ~460 cm −1 confirms the fluorite structure of all prepared samples.…”