Microwave mediated synthesis and characterization of CeO2-GO hybrid composite for removal of chromium ions and its antibacterial efficiency

A facile fabrication and processing of cerium oxide-graphene oxide(CeO_2-GO) hybrid nanocomposites without the use of any surfactant or any organic solvents using chemical method and treatment with microwave irradiation technique are reported. In-situ hexagonal nano cerium oxide particles embedded on the layered surface of GO sheets were investigated for the photodegradation of dyes, removal of chromium Cr(VI) ions and against antibacterial studies. The results imply that hybrid nanocomposites shows enhanced 5-folds of photocatalytic activities in UV(ultraviolet) light irradiation and exhibited rapid efficiency in the elimination of chromium ion better than the pure GO and CeO_2, which are inhibited by competent photosensitive electron inoculation and controlling the electron–hole recombination. The synergetic effect of CeO_2-GO composites played a vital role in showing better results against model bacterium than GO and CeO_2 are due to higher physical interaction endorsed to the stress of membranes acute by piercing edges,large surface area, and higher adsorptive conditions of graphene oxide sheets tailored with ceria particles. The amount of charge transferred at the interface increases with the concentration of O atoms, demonstrating the interaction between CeO_2 and GO is much stronger than CeO_2 and GO are due to the decrease of the average equilibrium distance between the interfaces. The CeO_2-GO interface staggered band alignments existing between the CeO_2 surfaces and GO which shows an excellent synergism. The structure and morphology of composites were tested by X-ray diffraction(XRD), Fourier transform infrared(FTIR), Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscope(HR-TEM).     

Hydrothermal fabrication of selectively doped organic assisted advanced ZnO nanomaterial for solar driven photocatalysis

Hydrothermal fabrication of selectively doped (Ag⁺ + Pd^3 +) advanced ZnO nanomaterial has been carried out under mild pressure temperature conditions (autogeneous; 150°C). Gluconic acid has been used as a surface modifier to effectively control the particle size and morphology of these ZnO nanoparticles. The experimental parameters were tuned to achieve optimum conditions for the synthesis of selectively doped ZnO nanomaterials with an experimental duration of 4 hr. These selectively doped ZnO nanoparticles were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV–Vis spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The solar driven photocatalytic studies have been carried out for organic dyes, i.e., Procion MX-5B dye, Cibacron Brilliant Yellow dye, Indigo Carmine dye, separately and all three mixed, by using gluconic acid modified selectively doped advanced ZnO nanomaterial. The influence of catalyst, its concentration and initial dye concentration resulted in the photocatalytic efficiency of 89% under daylight.