Enhanced photocatalytic activities of polypyrrole sensitized zinc ferrite/graphitic carbon nitride n-n heterojunction towards ciprofloxacin degradation, hydrogen evolution and antibacterial studies

Fusion of heterogeneous photocatalysts with conducting polymers has paid a rising stratagem in the field of photocatalysis owing to its biocompatibility and environment friendliness. In this work a series of polypyrrole (PPY) sensitized zinc ferrite/graphitic carbon nitride (ZFCN) n-n heterojunction ([email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]) nanocomposite were fabricated by in-situ polymerization method. Due to low band gap of polypyrrole, it behaves as a photo-sensitizer, supplies surplus numbers of electrons to ZnFe2O4/g-C3N4 n-n heterojunction and improves the photocatalytic performance. The fabricated [email protected] exhibits highest photocatalytic activity in comparison to others nanocomposites. The superior photocatalytic performance of [email protected] was ascribed to the tunable band structure, synergistic effect of broad absorption upto NIR region, delayed electron-hole recombination and efficient charge transfer across the junction interface which has been well confirmed from UV–Vis DRS, PL and EIS measurement. Further the photocatalytic activity of [email protected] was supported by both n-type and p-type photocurrent density i.e. 2.4 and 3.9 mA/cm2 respectively. [email protected] shows good photocatalytic performance towards ciprofloxacin degradation (92%) and generation of hydrogen energy (567 μmol). Along with pollutant degradation and energy production [email protected] also shows its potential towards antibacterial activities against human pathogenic bacteria like Escherichia coli. These newly designed polymer sensitized n-n heterojunction may offer a promising strategy for maximum light absorption and be authoritative in meeting the environmental claims in the future.