Trimetallic composite nanofibers for antibacterial and photocatalytic dye degradation of mixed dye water

Membrane technology is an advanced approach to making a healthier and cleaner environment. Using such catalytic membrane technology to get clean, usable water by removal of dye impurities as well as pathogenic microbes is the main goal behind the research work. Here, we present the synthesis and efficacy study of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA)-based Ag/ZnO/TiO(2) trimetallic bifunctional nanofibers with antibacterial and photocatalytic activity. The nanofibers have been proven to be effective for the degradation of methylene blue (MB 93.4%), rhodamine B (Rh 34.6%), auramine-O (Au 65.0%) and fuchsin basic (FB 69.8%) dyes individually within 90 min in daylight. The study is further extended in abating a mixture of these dyes from contaminated water using composite nanofibers. Also, in the case of a mixture of these dyes (3 ppm each), nanofibers show dye degradation efficiency (DDE) of 90.9% (MB), 62.4% (Au) and 90.3% (FB and Rh) in 60 min. The role of Ag nanoparticles with a synergic photocatalytic effect on ZnO and TiO(2) is also demonstrated. Also, PMMA/ZnO/TiO(2) composite fiber membrane in synergy with silver particles shows better antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria E. coli, making PMMA/Ag/ZnO/TiO(2) fibers a promising candidate in water purification. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s13204-020-01540-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.