Photocatalysis and antimicrobial activity of ZnO@TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles

Abstract

Wet chemical synthesis was used in this instance to create ZnO@TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles. By examining X-ray diffraction and Selected Area Electron Diffraction patterns, it was determined that the phase formation of prepared nanoparticles was a hexagonal primitive structure of ZnO and Tetragonal bcc structure of anatase phase of TiO2 devoid of impurity peaks. It was discovered that crystallites were 25 nm in size on average. The results of a surface morphology analysis utilizing High-Resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy show that all of the particles are spherical. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy study provided proof for the existence of core-shell elemental compositions. Fourier-Transform Infrared spectrum revealed the presence of characteristics of metal bonding with oxygen of ZnO and TiO2. UV-visible absorption analysis exhibited absorption peak in the UV region and the band gap energy of ZnO@TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles. The thermal behavior of ZnO@TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles was analyzed by using Thermogravimetric Analysis, Differential scanning calorimetry, and Differential Thermal Analysis techniques. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis exhibited the coating of TiO2 (shell) on the surface of ZnO (core) for the formation of a core-shell nanostructure. Due to its extremely small crystallite size, wide surface area, and reduced band gap, the ZnO@TiO2 core-shell sample demonstrated outstanding photocatalytic activity when rhodamine-B dye was photocatalytically degraded in the presence of UV light irradiation. Finally, the antibacterial and antifungal activities of ZnO@TiO2 core-shell nanoparticles were investigated, and it was shown that antifungal activity was superior to antibacterial activity. A suitable material for environmental and biological applications that produced core-shell nanoparticles displayed regulated grain size, outstanding photocatalytic performance, and high antifungal activity.