Adsorption-photocatalytic degradation abilities of γ-irradiated chitosan-ZnO-AgNP composite for organic dye removal and antibacterial activity

Abstract

We synthesized a γ-irradiated chitosan-ZnO-AgNPs (ICZA) composite by using a simple hydrogels method. We evaluated its adsorption/photocatalytic degradation abilities for the removal of an organic dye and its antibacterial activity. The XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, and FTIR techniques were used to characterize the obtained samples. Based on the adsorption and degradation of methylene blue (MB) in the dark and under UV light irradiation, the adsorption and the photocatalytic activity of the as-obtained samples were evaluated. The optimum conditions for synthesizing the composite were as follows: contact time of 210 min, a dosage of 2 g/L, MB concentration of 40 mg/L, and a solution pH of 8.0. The ICZA had a high adsorption capacity, which was suitable for removing MB from the aqueous solutions; it showed a maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of 92.59 mg/g. The fit of the adsorption isotherms with the Langmuir model was satisfactory. The photocatalytic degradation ability of the composite was also better than that of other catalysts in the presence of UV light, with an apparent rate constant (k app) of 3.08 × 10−2. The synthesized ICZA also showed good antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and a minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 12.5 g/mL and 50 g/mL under light-incubation and dark-incubation conditions. Finally, we discussed the hypothesized mechanism of the adsorption/photocatalytic activity and antibacterial activity of the ICZA composite in this study. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.