Synergic effect of rare earth doped Sm doped WO3 nanoparticles for enhanced MB dye photocatalytic activities of waste water treatment and antibacterial activities against Staphylococcusaureus

Abstract

One of the most effective ways to reduce environmental pollution on the earth's surface is the catalytic decomposition method. In this paper, the co-precipitation method was successfully used to synthesize pure and Sm (3, 5, and 7 wt%) doped WO3 nanoparticles by various weight percentage. The structural and optical properties of prepared NPs were characterized using XRD, SEM, EDS, HR-TEM, XPS, FTIR and UV–Vis. From XRD analysis confirmed the monoclinic phase of WO3 as well as the substitutional incorporation of Sm in WO3 lattice. The surface morphology of the obtained samples was studied by SEM and HR-TEM, which shows nanoplate morphology. EDS and XPS analysis element confirmation for W, O and Sm. The systematic decrease of bandgap (Eg) from 2.86 to 2.82 eV with increasing Sm doping concentration from 0 to 7 wt% was strong evidenced from UV–Vis analysis. Furthermore, the extensive surface area of the active CV curves and EIS indicating the good to improve photocatalytic performance and photo-generated carriers' separation efficiency. The photodegradation of Methyl Blue (MB) aqueous solution in 120 min under the visible light irradiation is used to assess the photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples. Among the four samples, 7 wt% doped one shows higher degradation efficiency of 94.2 %. Finally, the antibacterial properties of Sm:WO3 (0, 3, 5 and 7 wt%) NPs against Staphylococcusaureus (MTCC 8708) were investigated with the disc diffusion method and zone of inhibition in mm were recorded. Based on the above analysis, the superior antibacterial activity against Staphylococcusaureus (18 mm) is rather obtained with Sm:WO3 (7 wt%) sample.