Surface modification of TiO2 nanoparticles with CuO for visible-light antibacterial applications and photocatalytic degradation of antibiotics

This paper investigates the synthesis and characterization of photoactive TiO2/CuO nanocomposites for the simultaneous antibacterial applications and photocatalytic removal of Amoxicilline from wastewaters. Effective removal of biological and organic contaminants from water resources has become a global challenge due to contaminants' complexity and extensive use. TiO2/CuO heterojunctions with different CuO loadings were synthesized using a straightforward precipitation method. Electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet–visible (UV-VIS) analyses were used to characterize synthesized samples. Antibacterial activities of samples were investigated against Staphylococcus aureus. Also, the applicability of synthesized powders in the photocatalytic removal of Amoxicilline from wastewater was methodically investigated. Results showed that the photocatalytic activity of synthesized TiO2/CuO nanocomposites is highly dependent on the CuO loadings of samples. CuO loading can also increase the light absorption within the visible light region, making TiO2/CuO samples applicable in the visible light region. Results also showed that CuO loading greatly enhances the antibacterial characteristics of samples.