Cr2O3/cellulose hybrid nanocomposites with unique properties: Facile synthesis, photocatalytic, bactericidal and antioxidant application.

Development of high responsive photocatalysts for the degradation of dye from water is a significance method to solve the difficulties of water contamination. In the present project, Cr2O3 nanoparticles were decorated onto cellulose through a facile synthesis method, which was exposed to characterization by XRD, FESEM, DLS, PL, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The structural attributes confirmed the presence of rhombohedral phase of Cr2O3 nanoparticles. The mean crystal size of Cr2O3, and Cr2O3/cellulose nanocomposites were 38.50 nm, and 50.11 nm, respectively. The band gap values (Eg) of Cr2O3, and Cr2O3/cellulose nanocomposites were was found 3.00, and 2.53 eV, respectively. Moreover, the morphological and optical studies have been showed the impressive photocatalytic properties of the prepared Cr2O3/cellulose nanocomposites. The photocatalytic efficiency of Cr2O3, and Cr2O3/cellulose nanocomposites has been investigated for the photo-degradation of crystal violet in the ultraviolet light region. The Cr2O3/cellulose indicated promising photocatalytic performance and up to 99.65% of the crystal violet was photo-degraded in 40 min. The obtained crystal violet degradation results were fitted onto a Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) plot. The antioxidant performances of Cr2O3, and Cr2O3/cellulose were analyzed. The beneficial antibacterial performance of the Cr2O3/cellulose nanocomposites was tested by various bacteria as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, staphylococcus aurous, and Streptococcus pyogenes.