The photocatalytic and antibacterial potential of highly efficient S-scheme binary S-gC3N4@Co-zinc ferrite nanocomposite

Abstract

Dye contamination of water resources is a global issue threatening aquatic life and humans due to its persistence, toxicity, and carcinogenic potential; it must be resolved immediately. This paper reports the hydrothermally synthesized S-gC3N4/cobalt-zinc ferrite (S-GCN/Co-ZF) binary s-scheme heterojunction and its remarkable characteristics, including the lowest rate of charge carrier recombination and the highest absorption of solar energy with excellent photocatalytic and antibacterial potential. The photocatalytic performance of Co-ZF nanoparticles (0.5–12.5 wt%) was tested in the first phase to determine the ideal Co-doping into the ZF. The highest methylene blue photocatalytic degradation was shown by the as-synthesized 6.5% Co-ZF nanoparticles, which were then disseminated on sulphur-doped graphitic carbon nitride (S-GCN) nanosheets as an active constituent to create a series of 25–70 wt % S-GCN@6.5% Co-ZF nanocomposites in the subsequent stage. The optimized composite (55% S-GCN@6.5% CO-ZF) performed excellent photocatalytic performance and accomplished about 93% degradation of methylene blue within 120 min. The antibacterial potential of ZF, S-GCN, 6.5% Co-ZF, 55% S-GCN@6.5 %Co-ZF was examined against Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis bacteria. Among these samples, the 55% S-GCN@6.5%CO-ZF nanocomposite demonstrates excellent antibacterial potential. All the synthesized photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-disperse X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Visible) spectroscopic techniques.