Designing of highly active g-C3N4/Co@ZnO ternary nanocomposites for the disinfection of pathogens and degradation of the organic pollutants from wastewater under visible light

Abstract

Photocatalytic degradation of pollutants and disinfection of pathogens under sunlight is a propitious approach to solve the problem of environmental pollution. Herein, we fabricated a series of heterostructure nanocomposites (NCs) by the incorporation of 5% Co@ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) with diverse contents (10–75 wt%) of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4). An inimitable ternary nanocomposite designed by integrating g-C3N4 and Co@ZnO produced a large number of heterojunctions and active sites for contaminant photocatalysis. The characterization of the fabricated samples was accomplished by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, UV-Vis spectroscopy, BET surface area, and transient photocurrent response. Among the series of (0–9%) Co@ZnO NPs, the 5% Co@ZnO NPs presented maximum methylene blue (MB) photocatalytic degradation under sunlight. Fascinatingly, the ternary heterostructure (60% g-C3N4/5% Co@ZnO) developed by the incorporation of 5% Co@ZnO NPs with 60% g-C3N4 demonstrated an appreciable improvement in photocatalytic activity and completely degraded MB dye in 60 min as compared to 57% by 5% Co@ZnO NPs. The antibacterial efficiency of the photocatalysts was investigated employing the good diffusion procedure counter to Gram-positive (G+ve) and Gram-negative (G-ve) microbes. Ternary 60% g-C3N4/5% Co@ZnO heterostructure demonstrated an outstanding antibacterial action compared to its counterparts. The enriched photocatalytic and bactericidal propensity of the 60% g-C3N4/5% Co@ZnO NC was principally endorsed to the synergic effects of the heterojunctions created at the g-C3N4 and Co@ZnO NPs interface. The purposed study gives a good perceptiveness for designing an appropriate visible‐light‐driven photocatalyst with good environmental remediation applications.