Synthesis, Characterization, Photocatalytic and Antimicrobial Potential of Pr₂O₃/ZnO/gC₃N₄ Nanocomposite

In the current work, an efficient co-precipitation technique was used to develop a new Pr₂O₃/ZnO/g-C₃N₄ ternary nanocomposite. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) were used for vibrational, structural, morphological, and compositional analysis, respectively. The FTIR spectrum confirmed the presence of characteristics vibrational bands associated with the Pr–O, Zn–O, at 603 cm⁻¹ and 546 cm⁻¹, respectively. The XRD pattern revealed the presence of diffraction peaks related to ZnO (hexagonal), Pr₂O₃ (hexagonal) and gC₃N₄ (tetragonal) in the nanocomposite. SEM images revealed that the nanocomposite has porous type morphology with high agglomeration. The photocatalytic activity of nanocomposite was assessed against organic dye pollutant Methylene blue (MB) and antibiotic Ciprofloxacin (CIP) under the sunlight irradiation. The maximum degradation efficiency of nanocomposite for MB 93% at pH = 11 and CIP 97% at pH = 6. The scavenger's experiment was carried out, and the findings demonstrate that the photocatalytic activity of MB and CIP is strongly dependent on the (•OH) and (O₂•-) species. The antimicrobial activity was also analyzed against bacterial strains such as GrampositiveBacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Gram negative Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia colispecies. The results showed higher inhibition zones against Escherichia coli.