Eco-friendly Synthesis of γ-Fe2O3–Ag–ZnO Nanocomposite with Antibacterial and RhB Dye Degradation Properties Using Leaf Extract

Abstract

In this study, the photocatalytic degradation of RhB dye in an aqueous solution using ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3, [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3–ZnO, Ag–ZnO, and [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3–Ag–ZnO nanomaterials generated using poinciana leaf extract is presented. The nanomaterials were prepared utilizing environmentally friendly methods and poinciana leaf extract. The properties of the originally generated nanomaterials, analyzed through techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV–visible spectroscopy, X-ray, electron microscopy, and FE-SEM, have been described. The hexagonal structure of ZnO wurtzite was also discovered to align with the XRD findings. Additionally, EDX mapping was employed to analyze the composition of the [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3–Ag–ZnO nanocomposite. A topological investigation confirmed the roughness of the created nanostructures. Regarding the photocatalytic Rhodamine B (RhB) dye degradation studies, the [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3–Ag–ZnO nanocomposite demonstrated superior performance compared to pure ZnO in breaking down dye molecules under visible light exposure. Employing an ideal configuration of 1.0 g/L of photocatalyst, pH 10, and 10 ppm of RhB, an impressive photodegradation effectiveness of nearly 99% was achieved in just 45 min of light exposure. An analysis of reactive species was conducted to determine the photodegradation efficiency of [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3–Ag–ZnO. To investigate the impact of the microorganisms Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus on the [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3–Ag–ZnO nanocomposite, the results indicated that the [Formula: see text]-Fe2O3–Ag–ZnO nanocomposite achieved a high rate of success in neutralizing and eradicating these bacteria.