Bismuth Vanadate Decked Polyaniline Polymeric Nanocomposites: The Robust Photocatalytic Destruction of Microbial and Chemical Toxicants.

Functional materials have long been studied for a variety of environmental applications, resource rescue, and many other conceivable applications. The present study reports on the synthesis of bismuth vanadate (BiVO 4 ) integrated polyaniline (PANI) using the hydrothermal method. The topology of BiVO 4 decked PANI catalysts was investigated by SEM and TEM. XRD, EDX, FT-IR, and antibacterial testing were used to examine the physicochemical and antibacterial properties of the samples, respectively. Microscopic images revealed that BiVO 4 @PANI are comprised of BiVO 4 hollow cages made up of nanobeads that are uniformly dispersed across PANI tubes. The PL results confirm that the composite has the lowest electron-hole recombination compared to others samples. BiVO 4 @PANI composite photocatalysts demonstrated the maximum degradation efficiency compared to pure BiVO 4 and PANI for rhodamine B dye. The probable antimicrobial and photocatalytic mechanisms of the BiVO 4 @PANI photocatalyst were proposed. The enhanced antibacterial and photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the high surface area and combined impact of PANI and BiVO 4 , which promoted the migration efficiency of photo-generated electron holes. These findings open up ways for the potential use of BiVO 4 @PANI in industries, environmental remediation, pharmaceutical and medical sectors. Nevertheless, biocompatibility for human tissues should be thoroughly examined to lead to future improvements in photocatalytic performance and increase antibacterial efficacy.