Phytoextract-mediated cellulose/CeO2 nanocomposite for antibacterial and photocatalytic activity

This paper discusses the investigation of pure CeO2 nanoparticles and cellulose/CeO2 nanocomposite (1:1 weight ratio) via plant-based environmental-friendly method with the help of L. esculentum leaf extract for the first time. The structural and morphology properties of prepared cellulose/CeO2 composite were characterization by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy which are confirmed the decoration of CeO2 nanoparticles on cellulose polymer matrix surface. Successfully synthesized CeO2 nanoparticles and cellulose/CeO2 nanocomposite were used for the antibacterial studies towards Gram-negative, Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) human pathogens. The result shows that cellulose/CeO2 nanocomposite has superior antibacterial activity than pure CeO2 nanoparticles which suggests that the cellulose polymer can improve the antibacterial activity of CeO2 nanoparticle. The photocatalytic activity of the cellulose/CeO2 nanocomposite tested with Rhodamine B (RhB) decomposition under visible-light irradiation. The photocatalytic activity of RhB under visible-light irradiation showed 95% of the nanocomposite in 120 min. Thus, results recommend the green-synthesized organic-inorganic hybrid cellulose/CeO2 nanocomposite has potential applications in food packaging, agriculture, and biomedical applications.