Construction of novel quaternary nanocomposite and its synergistic effect towards superior photocatalytic and antibacterial application

Herein, quaternary based zinc-lead-cadmium-copper oxide (ZnO-PbO-CdO-CuO) nanocomposite has been synthesized by a feasible ‘one-pot’ chemical method. Structural, morphological and optical properties of nanocomposites were explored using various characterization techniques. The photocatalytic dye degradation activity of ZnO-PbO-CdO-CuO (ZPCC) and the binary counterpart nanocomposites were evaluated by employing two model dyes namely, Fast green (FG) and Rose bengal (RB) under sunlight irradiation. Highest degradation efficiency of 92.7% and 94.1% were achieved for FG and RB respectively with the time interval of 120 min using ZPCC nanocomposite. The quaternary nanocomposites demonstrated significantly higher photocatalytic activity than that of binary composites due to synergistic effect of the constituent metal oxides. Additionally, the toxicity profile of degraded dyes was assessed using an in vivo model, Caenorhabditis elegans, by measuring their effect on survival, phenotype, neuronal functions, and stress-protective gene expression. To the best of our knowledge, for first time, the quaternary ZPCC nanocomposite was synthesized and employed in photocatalytic degradation of textile dyes and antibacterial activity. Overall, the obtained results revealed that the quaternary ZPCC nanostructure is a novel and efficient photocatalyst for removing organic dyes as well as bacterial pathogens present in the aqueous medium.