Novel nanocomposite derived from ZnO/CdS QDs embedded crosslinked chitosan: An efficient photocatalyst and effective antibacterial agent

A novel nanocomposite ([email protected]/CdSQDs) has been developed under microwave irradiation via fabrication of ZnO/CdS quantum dots on anionically functionalized chitosan [i.e. poly (methacrylic acid) crosslinked chitosan (cl-Ch-pMAc) in the presence of diethylene glycol dimethacrylate (DEGDMA) crosslinker]. The structural, morphological and chemical/physical properties of crosslinked chitosan and the nanocomposites have been investigated using 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C NMR spectroscopy), high resolution-transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. The nanocomposite demonstrates outstanding efficacy towards the photocatalytic degradation of cationic dyes [malachite green (MG), and safranin (SF)] and toxic organic molecule 2,4-dichloro phenol (2,4-DCP) under the exposure of sunlight. Liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy (LC–MS) studies predict that small molecules are produced by degradation. Moreover, the composite exhibits excellent antibacterial activity towards E-coli and B. subtilis. Finally, the nanocomposite can be regenerated effectively with changing the solution pH and also shows 5 times reusability without significant reduction on its efficiency.