Fabrication of Effective Co-SnO2/SGCN Photocatalysts for the Removal of Organic Pollutants and Pathogen Inactivation

Abstract

Substantial improvement is needed in efficient and affordable decolorization and disinfection methods to solve the issues caused by dyes and harmful bacteria in water and wastewater. This work involves the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) as well as gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria by cobalt-doped tin oxide (Co-SnO2) nanoparticles (NPs) and Co-SnO2/SGCN (sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride) nanocomposites (NCs) under sunlight. The coprecipitation approach was used to synthesize the photocatalysts. Maximum methylene blue (MB) photocatalytic degradation was seen with the 7% Co-SnO2 NPs compared to other (1, 3, 5, and 9 wt.%) Co-SnO2 NPs. The 7% Co-SnO2 NPs were then homogenized with different amounts (10, 30, 50, and 70 weight %) of sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride (SGCN) to develop Co-SnO2/SGCN heterostructures with the most significant degree of MB degradation. The synthesized samples were identified by modern characterization methods such as FT-IR, SEM, EDX, UV-visible, and XRD spectroscopies. The Co-SnO2/50% SGCN composites showed a significant increase in MB degradation and degraded 96% of MB after 150 min of sunlight irradiation. Both gram-negative (E. coli) and gram-positive (B. subtiles) bacterial strains were subjected to antibacterial activity. All samples were shown to have vigorous antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, but the Co-SnO2/50% SGCNcomposites exhibited the maximum bactericidal action. Thus, the proposed NC is an efficient organic/inorganic photocatalyst that is recyclable and stable without lowering efficiency. Hence, Co-SnO2/50% SGCNNC has the potential to be employed in water treatment as a dual-functional material that simultaneously removes organic pollutants and eradicates bacteria.

Highly-Efficient Ni@CuS/SGCN Nanocomposite with Superior Bifunctional Electrocatalytic Activity for Water Splitting

“…The peaks at 1235, 1403, 1455, 1540, and 1622 cm −1 represented the C 6 N 7 heptazine heterocyclic ring stretching vibration modes. 37,38 The deformation of N-H is confirmed by the broad peak at 886 cm −1 . The peaks at 3151 and 3161 are due to the H 2 O that was adsorbed, and the second is due to the amine group N−H vibration.…”

A review of novel methods to improve the optical and electrical properties of n-type and p-type sulphides and oxides: leading the frontiers of semiconductor technology

“…These impurities can also have a significant effect on the electrical and optical properties of oxide and sulphide films. For example, in ZnO films, impurities such as Oxygen vacancies or Zinc interstitials can result in changes in the carrier concentration and mobility [36,68,69]. Oxygen vacancies can create electron traps, which can reduce the mobility of the free electrons, while Zinc interstitials can act as acceptor impurities, which can reduce the number of free electrons [70].…”

Photocatalytic Antimicrobials: Principles, Design Strategies, and Applications

“…Due to the morphology- and structure-dependent photocatalytic properties of PCAMs, the characterization of crystal structures, electronic structures, and antimicrobial performance of PCAMs during the PCAT process is crucial for understanding their working mechanism and providing guidelines for PCAMs synthesis. − In this section, we will focus on the characterization techniques used in studies of the physical, chemical, band structure, and antimicrobial performance of PCAMs (Table ). It is hoped to provide a perspective for understanding PCAT and provide inspiration for developing new PCAMs with superior performance.…”