Nitrogen and Carbon Nitride-Doped TiO2 for Multiple Catalysis and Its Antimicrobial Activity

• Published in: Nanoscale research letters Vol. 16; no. 1; pp. 1 - 15
• Main Authors: Ashfaq, Atif, Ikram, Muhammad, Haider, Ali, Ul-Hamid, Anwar, Shahzadi, Iram, Haider, Junaid
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 26-07-2021; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Absorption spectra; Anatase; Antiinfectives and antibacterials; Antimicrobial activity; Antimicrobial agents; Biodegradation; Carbon; Carbon nitride; Catalysis; Chemical bonds; Chemical composition; Chemistry and Materials Science; Ciprofloxacin; Co-precipitation; Crystallites; Crystals; Current carriers; Degree of crystallinity; Doping; Dye degradation; E coli; Materials Science; Methylene blue; Molecular Medicine; Nano Express; Nanochemistry; Nanoscale Science and Technology; Nanostructure; Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology and Microengineering; Nitrogen; Optical properties; Performance degradation; Photocatalysis; Red shift; Sonocatalysis; Spectroscopic analysis; Spectroscopy; Spectrum analysis; Staphylococcus aureus; Titanium dioxide; Vibrations; Dye degradation; Sonocatalysis; Co-precipitation; Photocatalysis; Methylene blue
• ISSN: 1556-276X; 1931-7573; 1556-276X
• DOI: 10.1186/s11671-021-03573-4

Nitrogen (N) and carbon nitride (C
3
N
4
)-doped TiO
2
nanostructures were prepared using co-precipitation route. Fixed amount of N and various concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 wt%) of C
3
N
4
were doped in TiO
2
lattice. Through multiple techniques, structural, chemical, optical and morphological properties of samples were thoroughly investigated. XRD results verified anatase TiO
2
presence along the substitutional doping of N, while higher degree of crystallinity as well as increased crystallite size were noticed after doping. HR-TEM study revealed formation of nanostructures incorporated on two dimensional (2D) C
3
N
4
nanosheet surface. Elemental composition was checked out using EDS technique which confirmed the presence of dopant in product. Optical characteristics were evaluated with UV–vis spectroscopy which depicted representative redshift in absorption spectra resulted in a reduction in bandgap energy in N/C
3
N
4
-doped TiO
2
samples. The formation of Ti–O–Ti bonds and different molecular vibrations were disclosed by FTIR. Trap sites and charge carrier’s migration in the materials were evaluated with PL spectroscopy. Multiple catalytic activities (photo, sono and photo-sono) were undertaken to evaluate the dye degradation performance of prepared specimen against methylene blue and ciprofloxacin. Further, antimicrobial activity was analyzed against
Escherichia coli
(
E. coli
) and
Staphylococcus aureus
(
S. aureus
) bacteria.