Graphitic carbon nitride @ silver zirconate nanocomposite (gC3N4@Ag2ZrO3): A Type-II heterojunction for an effective visible light photocatalysis and bacterial photo-inactivation

Photocatalytic oxidative degradation of organic pollutants combined with bacterial inhibition has been an attractive approach due to its effectiveness and simplicity. Herein we propose a co-precipitation protocol for the synthesis of newly designed gC(3)N(4)@Ag2ZrO3 hybrid nanocomposite with enhanced visible light photocatalytic as well as bacterial photo-inactivation activity. gC(3)N(4)@Ag2ZrO3 hybrid nanocomposite formation was confirmed using XRD & XPS analysis, whereas the morphological evidences were collected from the FE-SEM, HR-TEM and BET analysis. Results suggest that the Ag2ZrO3 nanoparticles were uniformly covered with the gC(3)N(4) sheet, resulting in the formation of type-II heterojunction. The Type-II gC(3)N(4)@Ag2ZrO3 exhibits photocatalytic efficiency of 99.70% when Ag2ZrO3 nanoparticles were covered with 30 wt% of gC(3)N(4). Improved photocatalytic activity can be attributed to better separation of photo-excitons and formation of active radical species. Along with enhanced photo efficiency, gC(3)N(4)@Ag2ZrO3 nanocomposite also exhibited excellent photo-inactivation of microorganisms like Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.