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Environmental pollution is steadily rising and is having a negative influence on all living things, especially human beings. The advancement of nanoscience in recent decades has provided potential to address this issue. Functional metal oxide nanoparticles/nanofibers have been having a pull-on effect in the biological and environmental domains of nanobiotechnology. Current work, for the first time, is focusing on the electrospinning production of Zr0.5Sn0.5TiO3/SnO2 ceramic nanofibers that may be utilized to battle lethal infections swiftly and inexpensively. By using characterizations like XRD, FT–IR, FESEM, TEM, PL, and UV–Vis–DRS, the composition, structure, morphology, and optical absorption of samples were determined. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) approach was used to investigate the antibacterial activity. Notably, this research indicated that nanofibers exert antibacterial action against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with a MIC of 25 µg/mL. Furthermore, negatively charged E. coli was drawn to positively charged metal ions of Zr0.5Sn0.5TiO3/SnO2, which showed a robust inhibitory effect against E. coli. It was interesting to discover that, compared to pure TiO2, Zr0.5Sn0.5TiO3/SnO2 nanofibers revealed increased photocatalytic activity and exceptional cyclability to the photodegradation of Rhodamine B. The composite completely degrades dye in 30 min with 100% efficacy and excellent (97%) reusability. The synergetic effects of Zr0.5Sn0.5TiO3 and SnO2 may be responsible for increased photocatalytic and bactericidal activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the current study, we aimed to represent a straightforward approach to fabricate novel CuO/TiO2 composite nanorods by an electrospinning process using copper nitrate and titanium isopropoxide as precursors for copper oxide and titanium oxide respectively; the obtained electrospun nanorods were vacuum dried at 80°C and then calcined at 600°C. Model microorganisms Escherichia coli KCCM 11234 and Staphylococcus aureus KCCM 11256 had been used to check the antimicrobial efficacy of electrospun nanorods. The antibacterial activity and the interaction mechanism of CuO/TiO2 composite nanorods against bacteria were investigated by minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method and analyzing the morphology of the bacterial cells following the treatment with nanorods solution. CuO/TiO2 composite nanorods have diameter of 100nm and average lengths of one micrometer. The elemental analysis using EDX and EPMA confirms the presence of Cu atoms in CuO/TiO2 composite nanorods. Results showed that doping promotes the antimicrobial effect and prepared nanorods possess excellent antibacterial abilities under visible light. As a result, our study for the first time highlights the potential of copper oxide to augment the bactericidal efficacy and hence can be used in the manufacture of medical appliances. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]