Enhanced antibacterial and visible light driven photocatalytic activity of CaFe2O4 doped CdO heterojunction nanohybrid particles prepared by sono-chemical method

CaFe2O4 doped CdO heterojunction nanohybrid particles (CdO/CaFe2O4 NCs) was fabricated by sono-chemical assisted co-precipitation technique. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis revealed the crystallinity of CdO and CaFe2O4. Chemical states were determined using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) also indicates the successful formation of CdO/CaFe2O4 NCs. BET analyzer indicates the high surface area of NCs (44.099 m(2)/g) compared to individual particles. The optical, electrical and magnetic properties were studied using UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) and vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM). The resulting CdO/CaFe2O4 NCs showed enhanced performance in photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation. The intimate NPs contact resulted in improvement in photocatalytic performance owing to the prevention of e(-)/h(+) recombination. The h(+) and OH- radicals played major role in dye degradation that was confirmed by scavengers study. The photocatalyst showed outstanding photostability and recyclability even after six photocatalytic runs. The CdO/CaFe2O4 NCs showed potential bacterial growth inhibition. The result indicates the multifunctionality of CdO/CaFe2O4 NCs that show superior photocatalytic and antimicrobial properties compared with pristine parts of CdO and CaFe2O4 NPs.

Automated summary

CdO/CaFe2O4 NCs, fabricated using sono-chemical assisted co-precipitation technique, exhibited enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation by preventing e(-)/h(+) recombination. Studies confirmed the significant role of h(+) and OH- radicals in dye degradation. Additionally, the NCs showed outstanding photostability and recyclability.