Photocatalytic and antibacterial activities of eco-friendly green synthesized ZnO and NiO nanoparticles

ZnO and NiO nanopowders are prepared using a simple, cost-effective and eco-friendly green soft chemical method. The XRD studies shows that the prepared powders have high crystallinity with an average crystallite size of 35 and 30 nm, respectively. The EDX study confirms the presence of elements the Zn, Ni and O. Test to find the photocatalytic of ZnO and NiO nanopowders for the degradation of MB dye is performed under visible light. The results reveal that the photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO nanopowders is higher than that of NiO nanopowders. From the antibacterial studies, it is found that the prepared ZnO nanopowder exhibits higher antibacterial efficiency against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria than NiO nanopowders. The binding affinity of the bacterial strains with the prepared nanoparticles has been calculated by performing a molecular dynamics simulation and the results are found to be matched well with the experimental studies.