Synthesis of Fe-doped ZnO/biochar nanocomposites for Acid Orange 7 photodegradation and antibacterial activity under visible light region

Abstract In the present study, different molar ratios of Fe-doped ZnO/biochar (FZBC) were synthesized using a coprecipitation method. ZnO nanoparticles with a size of approximately 30 nm were well dispersed on the biochar matrix. The bandgap energy decreases from 3.11 to 3.08 eV as the Fe-ion concentration increases from 1 to 7 mol%. Photocatalytic studies demonstrated that FZBC exhibited photodegradation toward acid orange 7 (AO7). FZBC exhibited a photodegradation efficiency of AO7 at a concentration of 10 mg. L-1 (93.17%), which was nine times greater than that of pure ZnO (10.30%). Furthermore, the FZBC materials also demonstrated effective inactivation of E. coli, with an antibacterial rate reaching 98%. Overall, these materials are expected to be cost-effective and suitable for photocatalytic degradation and antibacterial activities.