Highly Efficient Ag-Doped Ba0.5Sr0.5ZrO3 Nanocomposite with Enhanced Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Activity

In this work, zirconate-based nanoparticles (BaxSr1−xZrO3, x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1), as well as Ag-doped Ba0.5Sr0.5ZrO3 nanoparticles with different Ag contents, were prepared using a sol–gel method. The synthesized materials were characterized by XRD, FE-SEM, EDS, TEM, DLS, TGA, ICP, FT-IR, DRS, and BET analyses. XRD analysis showed that BaZrO3 was formed in a cubic perovskite structure, whereas SrZrO3, Ba0.5Sr0.5ZrO3, and Ag-doped Ba0.5Sr0.5ZrO3 samples showed an orthorhombic phase. FE-SEM, TEM and DLS analyses demonstrated that the crystallite size of the 25 mol% Ag-doped Ba0.5Sr0.5ZrO3 sample was smaller than that of the Ba0.5Sr0.5ZrO3. EDS analysis confirmed the presence of the expected elements in all of the samples and ICP determined the exact Ag content in the Ag-doped sample. Photocatalytic activity of the prepared samples was studied for degradation of MB and EY under UV–Vis irradiation. The 25 mol% Ag-doped Ba0.5Sr0.5ZrO3 dispelled the highest photocatalytic activity. In addition, the Ba0.5Sr0.5ZrO3 and Ag-doped Ba0.5Sr0.5ZrO3 samples were studied for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus strains. It was found that the 25 mol% Ag-doped Ba0.5Sr0.5ZrO3 sample has the highest growth inhibitory effect against S. aureus, due to the unique antibacterial properties of silver particles.