Microwave assisted green synthesis of Ag doped CuO NPs anchored on GO-sheets for high performance photocatalytic and antimicrobial applications

Abstract

Dangerous non-biodegradable compounds are released into the environment due to the increased human population and industrialization. A simple green synthesis approach of novel silver (Ag)-doped copper oxide (CuO) anchored graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets (Ag-CuO@GO) via energy-efficient microwave heating method has been developed for photocatalytic and antimicrobial applications. Tea extract is used as a capping and reducing agent. The prepared Ag-CuO@GO nanocomposites (NCs) used for photocatalytic and antimicrobial activities are investigated systematically. The highly crystalline, well-interconnected Ag-CuO nanoparticles (NPs) over GO provide an enhanced surface area of 24.1 m2/g and an efficient pore diameter of 15.1 nm with more active sites. A reduced optical bandgap (Eg) of 1.48 eV obtained for the Ag-CuO@GO NCs, less than that of the bare and Ag-CuO, indicates that it can function as an efficient photocatalyst by harvesting solar energy. As demonstrated by the suppressed PL of the ternary Ag-CuO@GO nanocatalysts, additional of Ag and GO can efficiently separate the charge carriers. Ag-CuO@GO exhibited an 89% increase in the dye removal rate of MB dye and high antimicrobial activity against S.aureus, E.coli and Candida albicans that that of bare CuO and binary NCs. The synthesized novel Ag-CuO@GO NCs show promise as potential photocatalysts for the pollutant degradation and antimicrobial activity.