Liquid phase synthesis of pectin-cadmium sulfide nanocomposite and its photocatalytic and antibacterial activity

We report the synthesis of pectin-cadmium sulfide nanocomposite (Pc/CSNC) in aqueous phase at 60 degrees C using pectin as the coupling negotiator. The nanocomposite was characterized by using techniques such as X-ray powdered diffraction (XRD), transmission electron spectroscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). TEM results indicated that the average size of particles in Pc/CSNC was in the range from 4 nm to 10 nm. These results were consistent with the results obtained from XRD data. Pc/CSNC was explored for the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye from waste water in the presence of sunlight and sodium lamp source. Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye was recorded to be higher under visible light irradiation (95.5%) as compared to that under sodium lamp source (88.9%) after 6 h of irradiation. Pc/CSNC offered excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli bacteria culture. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.