Antimicrobial attributes and enhanced catalytic potential of PVA stabilized Ag-NiO2 nanocomposite for wastewater treatment

Dyes are well known major pollutants in wastewater discharged by various textile industries which are toxic to human beings and aquatic life. It is necessary to remove these colorants from water with low-cost yet effective method by which these pollutants can be removed from the water bodies. Current study has been designed to develop cost-effective material for the removal of dyes in wastewater along with the application of composite to inhibit the growth of Gram negative (GN) and Gram positive (GP) bacterium. Nanocomposite (Ag-NiO2@PVA) of silver and nickel was synthesized by the chemical reduction method and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used as a stabilizing medium. Nanocomposite (NC) was characterized employing different techniques including XRD, SEM, and FTIR which not only confirmed its synthesis but also provided their structure and morphology. The hex-agonal close packed nanocomposite was tested for the catalytic degradation of different azo and anthraquinone dyes including methylene blue (MB), methyl orange (MO) and eosin yellow (EY). The degradation of MO, MB and EY was recorded in 20, 16 and 20 min with percentage removal 89.26, 95.88 and 96.56 % respectively. Antibacterial potential of the nanocomposite was assessed against different GN and GP bacterial strains namely Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and the as-synthesized Ag-NiO2@PVA exhibited strong zone of inhibition against all types of bacterial strains mentioned herein. Nanocomposite was recovered and analyzed after dye degradation as well as the antibacterial studies have confirmed stability and recyclability of the nanocomposite. Results of the current study strongly recommend the composite for wastewater treatment applications i.e., removal of different dyes and pathogens. Silver and nickel based nanocomposite can be syn-thesized and modified followed by the stabilization with PVA for different applications in material sciences.