Green synthesis of bimetallic Ag/ZnO@Biohar nanocomposite for photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline, antibacterial and antioxidant activities

Abstract In this work, a simple and green synthesis procedure for phytofabrication Zinc oxide-silver supported biochar nanocomposite (Ag/ZnO@BC) via Persicaria salicifolia biomass is investigated for the first time to uphold numerous green chemistry such as less hazardous chemical syntheses. XRD technique showed the crystal structure of the phytosynthesized Ag/ZnO@BC, whereas UV–visible spectroscopy, FT-IR, SEM, EDX, TEM, and XPS analyses indicated the successful biosynthesis of the nanocomposite. Testing the photocatalytic potential of this novel nanocomposite in the removal of TC under different conditions unraveled its powerful photodegradation efficiency that reached 70.3% under the optimum reaction conditions: TC concentration; 50 ppm, pH; 6, a dose of Ag/ZnO@BC; 0.01 g, temperature; 25 °C, and H 2 O 2 concentration; 100 mM. The reusability of Ag/ZnO@BC was evident as it reached 53% after six cycles of regeneration. Ag/ZnO@BC was also shown to be a potent antimicrobial agent against Klebsiella pneumonia as well as a promising antioxidant material. Therefore, the current work presented a novel nanocomposite that could be efficiently employed in various environmental and medical applications.