Green synthesis of ZnO/CuTiO2/PVDF nanocomposite using Solanum nigrum extract: photocatalytic and biological applications

A ZnO/CuTiO 2 /PVDF nanocomposite was synthesized via green synthesis using plant extract Solanum nigrum and co-precipitation. This novel material overcomes the inherent hydrophobicity of PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) by incorporating ZnO/CuTiO 2 nanoparticles as resistive transduction layers, thereby facilitating its optical and photocatalytic activity. The ZnO CuTiO 2 /PVDF nanocomposite were characterized by SEM, TEM, EDX, PL and UV-DRS. According to the TEM and EDAX results spherical morphology and elemental composition of the ZnO/CuTiO 2 /PVDF nanocomposite were confirmed. The band gap of the ZnO CuTiO 2 /PVDF nanocomposite was determined to be 2.3 eV, which was comparatively lower than pure ZnO (3.2 eV) band gap. The photocatalytic activity of the samples is analyzed using degradation of Trypan Blue (TB) under sun light irradiation. Among the samples, ZnO/CuTiO 2 /PVDF nanocomposite exhibited 95 % degradation efficiency with 45 min over 61 % degradation efficiency of ZnO. Owing to low bandgap and lower charge-carrier recombination of composite the degradation efficiency was higher than ZnO. Additionally, the reused for up to multiple cycle after a negligible reduction in activity making it an important resource for industrial applications. Finally, the antibacterial activity of the samples is studied by disc diffusion method against E.Coli and S. aureus bacteria. Thus, ZnO/CuTiO 2 /PVDF nanocomposite with improved photocatalytic and antibacterial activity.