One-step fabrication of surfactant mediated Pd/SiO2, A prospect toward therapeutic and photocatalytic applications

Owing to the significant ecological sustainability of facile methods for synthesis of nanomaterials, they have gained much attention in the field of nanotechnology. In this present research work, surfactant mediated synthesis of Pd/SiO2 nanocomposites was achieved by reduction of Pd ions on the surface of SiO2. By using Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), the aggregation during synthesis of nanoparticles was avoided thus making the synthesis efficient and cost-effective as no special conditions of temperature and pressure was required. The prepared nanomaterials were fully investigated structurally and morphologically using various analytical tools including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry and UV-visible spectroscopy. The synthesized Pd/SiO2 nanomaterials were examined for their catalytic activities towards degradation of nonbiodegradable Methylene blue (MB). Here, the results of photocatalytic activity showed that the degradation of MB in the presence of Pd/SiO2 reached up to 94% within 50 min of irradiation. Furthermore, the antimicrobial study showed that the prepared Pd/SiO2 nanocomposite exhibit excellent antibacterial properties. The inhibition of irradiated Pd/SiO2 composite against E. coli and S. aureus were 19 & PLUSMN; 0.4 mm and 24 +/- 0.5 mm respectively, while that in dark were 8 +/- 0.2 mm and 11 +/- 0.3 mm respectively. In addition, the effect of Pd/SiO2 amount and light irradiation on the antibacterial activity was investigated by determining the amount of activated oxygen radicals produced within the bacterial cell. Interestingly, the cytotoxicity analysis showed that Pd/SiO2 nano composite is nontoxic to healthy RBCs. The overall results of this present study concludes that as-synthesized Pd/ SiO2 nanocomposite has both photocatalytic as well as therapeutic properties ensuring that it could be novel candidate for removal of organic pollutants and bacterial pathogens.

Automated summary

This study focuses on the surfactant-mediated synthesis of Pd/SiO2 nanocomposites, which showed efficient synthesis without the need for special conditions. The prepared nanomaterials exhibited high catalytic activity in the degradation of the nonbiodegradable Methylene blue (MB) and excellent antibacterial properties. The study also demonstrated the nontoxicity of the Pd/SiO2 nanocomposites to healthy red blood cells, making them a potential candidate for the removal of organic pollutants and bacterial pathogens.