Actinidia Deliciosa mediated synthesis of antimony oxide nanoparticles and their incorporation into chitosan matrix for enhanced antibacterial and photocatalytic activity

This study examines the synthesis and characterization of antimony oxide (Sb2O3) nanoparticle and its combination with chitosan (Cs) to make Sb2O3-Cs nanocomposites. The green chemistry method of the Sb2O3 nanoparticles synthesis was supported by the Actinidia deliciosa (kiwi) extract that serves as reducing agent and stabilizing agent. The nanoparticles obtained were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to study their morphology, elemental composition, crystallinity and functional groups respectively. The SEM images indicated a more compact, heterogeneous structure when the Sb2O3 nanoparticles were incorporated into the chitosan matrix to form Sb2O3-Cs nanocomposites, with the nanoparticles uniformly distributed in the chitosan matrix. XRD results established the formation of a pure senarmontite cubic phase of Sb2O3 in pure nanoparticles and nanocomposites. The findings indicated that the dispersion of Sb2O3 nanoparticles was highly enhanced by the presence of chitosan and this minimized aggregation and increased the stability of the material. The synthesized materials were tested against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli by zone of inhibition (ZOI) method of antibacterial activity as well as tested for photocatalytic degradation of rhodamine-B (rhB) under visible light. This study explains that Sb2O3 nanoparticles, and Sb2O3-Cs nanocomposites, possess significant potential in biomedical and pollution remediation applications.