Enhanced antibacterial and photocatalytic activity of (Mg+Co) doped tin oxide nanopowders synthesised using wet chemical route

Abstract

In this study, the photocatalytic activity of pristine and (Mg+Co) doped tin oxide (SnO2) nanopowders have been investigated towards the degradation of aqueous solutions of Methylene Blue (MB) and Malachite Green (MG). In addition, the antibacterial activities of the synthesised samples were evaluated against Gram-positive Staphylococus aureus bacteria and Gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria by the well diffusion method. The SnO2: Mg: Co nanopowders exhibit superior photocatalytic activity when compared with pristine SnO2. The degradation process follows a pseudo-first-order kinetics. The rate constant of SnO2: Mg: Co nanopowder is 1·2 times greater than that of pristine SnO2 nanopowder for the degradation of MB dye while for MG dye degradation, it is 1·5 times. Moreover, antibacterial activity of SnO2: Mg: Co nanopowder showed better antibacterial properties compared to pristine SnO2. The above mentioned samples were synthesised using a simple and low-cost soft chemical process.