Physicochemical, optical and magnetic properties of ZrO2/Fe2O3 nanocomposite and its application in photocatalysis and antibacterial treatment

In this work ZrO2/Fe2O3 nanocomposite was synthesised through hydrothermal method using an innovative approach. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the formation of tetragonal ZrO2 and alpha-Fe2O3 in the nanocomposite. The FTIR spectra of the prepared samples exhibited characteristic peaks corresponding to ZrO2 and Fe2O3 and UV-Visible spectroscopy reveals that the nanocomposite exhibits a significantly lesser bandgap than the pure nanoparticles as determined by the Kubelka Munk function used for bandgap computation. Photoluminescence analysis substantiates the reduction in the recombination rate in the ZrO2/Fe2O3 nanocomposite as compared to the pure ZrO2 nanoparticles. Reduction in the bandgap as well as the recombination rate makes the nanocomposite favourable in the photocatalytic treatment of organic pollutants. Raman analysis was carried out to study the vibrational characteristics of the samples. Further, the prepared nanocomposite was examined for its applicability in photocatalysis, by analysing its degradation ability on Eosin yellow and Eosin Blue dyes under white light LED irradiation. The composite exhibited significant degradation ability than the pure nanoparticles, which makes it an ideal candidate for the treatment of organic pollutants. The nanocomposite exhibited ferromagnetic behaviour as confirmed through Vibrating sample Magnetometry, so it can be easily retrieved after the treatment. The prepared ZrO2/Fe2O3 nanocomposite was tested for its antibacterial efficacy against two Gram positive bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus) and two Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). From the antibacterial studies it was validated that the nanocomposite exhibited significant antibacterial efficiencies against the bacteria. Hence the prepared nanocomposite has been proved to be a potential candidate for the treatment of organic pollutants as well as for antibacterial treatment.