Stabilization of Various Zero-Valent Metal Nanoparticles on a Superabsorbent Polymer for the Removal of Dyes, Nitrophenol, and Pathogenic Bacteria

[Image: see text] In this work, a superabsorbent polymer, sodium polyacrylate, also known as water ball (WB), loaded with Ni, Cu, and Ag zero-valent metal nanoparticles (MNPs) was applied for environmental remediation. WBs loaded with Ni, Cu, and Ag NPs were evaluated for their catalytic performance against the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP) and decolorization of methyl orange (MO), Congo red (CR), and methylene blue (MB) dyes. The apparent rate constants (K(app)) for the reduction of 4-NP to 4-AP in the presence of Ni, Cu, and Ag NPs were 2.1 × 10(–1), 2.9 × 10(–1), and 4.6 × 10(–1) min(–1), respectively, indicating the strongest activity of WB loaded with Ag NPs as compared to the other two catalysts. Similarly, WB loaded with Ag NPs showed the highest K(app) values compared to the other two catalysts. Among all of the bacteria studied, except Providencia stuartii and Streptococcus mutans, the zone of inhibition of Ag was higher as compared to that of the Ni and Cu NPs, however, slightly low from that of the reference standard tetracycline TE30. Furthermore, the synthesized catalysts were extensively characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses.