Environmentally Sustainable Fabrication of Ag@g-C3N4 Nanostructures and Their Multifunctional Efficacy as Antibacterial Agents and Photocatalysts

Noble-metal silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) anchored/decorated onto polymeric graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) as nanostructures (NSs) were prepared using modest and environment-friendly synthesis method with a developed-single-strain biofilm as a reducing implement. The as-fabricated NSs were characterized using standard characterization techniques. The nanosized and uniform AgNPs were well deposited onto the sheet-like matrix of g-C3N4 and exhibited good antimicrobial activity and superior photodegradation of dyes methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) dyes under visible-light illumination. The Ag@g-C3N4 NSs exhibited active and effective bactericidal performance and a survival test in counter to Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The as-fabricated NSs also exhibited superior visible-light photodegradation of MB and RhB in much less time as compared to other reports. Ag@g-C3N4 NSs (3 mM) showed superior photocatalytic measurements under visible-light irradiation: ∼1...