Synthesis of Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Aided ZnO/Mn2O3 Nanocomposites for Acid Orange-8 Dye Degradation: Mechanism and Antibacterial Activity

Zinc oxide is one of the novel metal oxides utilized for diverse applications. The sol-gel and unintended self-propagation procedures were applied to synthesize the porous and high surface area ZnO-based metal oxide nanocomposite. The p-type manganese(III) oxide was successfully coupled with n-type ZnO. The physical property characterization results revealed the surface area, porosity, and charge transfer capability improvement on the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-aided binary nanocomposite (PVA-ZnO/Mn2O3), compared to ZnO. The XRD patterns and TEM image analysis validated the nanometer size range for the materials (15-60 nm). The SEM micrographs and BET spectral details have confirmed the porous nature of the PVA-ZnO/Mn2O3 nanocomposite. The supporting results were obtained from the HRTEM (IFFT) and SAED pattern analyses. The EDX and HRTEM analyses were used for the confirmation of elemental composition and reality of the PVA-ZnO/Mn2O3 composite, respectively. The presence of the improved charge transfer property for PVA-ZnO/Mn2O3, compared to ZnO, was evidenced from acid orange-8 dye degradation. The highest zone of inhibition (14 mm) was recorded on Escherichia coli bacteria for the uncalcined PVA-ZnO/Mn2O3 nanocomposite compared to PVA, yet, less zone of inhibition compared to the calcined PVA-ZnO/Mn2O3 nanocomposite. The authors recommend the formation of the couple between metal oxides by electrochemical technique analyses as a future work.