Facile Synthesis of Carbon Dot Deposited γ-FeOOH Nanosheet/Polypyrrole Composite: A Robust Photocatalyst for Degradation of Antibiotics under Sunlight Irradiation with Enhanced Antibacterial Activity

Abstract

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.

Adsorption of Toxic Cd(II) on an Antibacterial Biopolymeric Gel toward Fabrication of a Gel Electrolyte-Based Supercapacitor Device

“…The AMPS entities decrease the pH of the media, leading to stress on the cell walls, and hence, disruption of the cell walls takes place. Besides that, the electrostatic interaction and hydrophobic interaction of the polymeric chain may also break the cell walls, leading to death of the cell …”

“…Besides that, the electrostatic interaction and hydrophobic interaction of the polymeric chain may also break the cell walls, leading to death of the cell. 70 2.17. In Vitro Biodegradation Analysis.…”

In Situ Synthesis of Nanostructured Composites of NiFe Layered Double Hydroxide and Polyaniline for Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Pollutants and Remediation of Biological Contaminants

“…For better understanding, the possible photogenerated charge carrier transfer and separation mechanisms for binary LDH/PANI/MMA photocatalyst (Scheme a) and trinary LDH/PANI/MMA/Ag photocatalyst (Scheme b) have been discussed. While, upon the heterojunction formation, the individual components of the heterojunction system create a suitable band alignment among the constituents to allow effective photoinduced charge carrier transportation under light irradiation. , Under solar light irradiation, initially the electrons from the ground state of LDH ( E VB ) and PANI/MAA (HOMO) were promoted to their corresponding higher energy level E CB and LUMO, respectively, leaving the holes behind. However, as depicted in Scheme a,b, the CB potential of NiFe LDH could not have sufficient potential to directly reduce dissolved oxygen into ·O 2 – because of its lower negative potential (0.06 V vs NHE) than O 2 /·O 2 – redox potential (−0.33 V vs NHE).…”

“…While, upon the heterojunction formation, the individual components of the heterojunction system create a suitable band alignment among the constituents to allow effective photoinduced charge carrier transportation under light irradiation. 90,91 Under solar light irradiation, initially the electrons from the ground state of LDH (E VB ) and PANI/MAA (HOMO) were promoted to their corresponding higher energy level E CB and LUMO, respectively, leaving the holes behind. − .…”

New Insight into the Natural Detoxification of Cr(VI) in Fe-Rich Surface Soil: Crucial Role of Photogenerated Silicate-Bound Fe(II)

“…The soils were excited at room temperature with 365 nm light to simulate the transition of electrons from the conduction band (CB) to the valence band (VB) because the energy corresponding to 365 nm was the strongest absorption peak wavelength of HN and YN soils. The fluorescence emission peaks for OM 61 and iron (hydr)oxides 62 were exhibited at 440 and 600 nm, respectively. After most of the high-crystallinity mineral structural Fe had been removed with 6 M HCl, the intensity of the emission peak at 600 nm belonging to iron (hydr)oxides was significantly increased due to the enrichment of silicatebound Fe caused by the extraction process (Figure 4b), proving that clay−iron (hydr)oxide associations indeed produced photoelectrons and holes under solar irradiation.…”