• Bongiorno, Corrado
• Condorelli, Guglielmo Guido
• Cambria, Maria Teresa
• Salmeri, Mario
• Presti, Francesca Lo
• Lombardo, Cinzia
• Mannino, Giovanni
• Pulvirenti, Luca

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>In this paper, we report on the synthesis of a new hybrid photocatalytic material activated by natural sunlight irradiation. The material consists of multiferroic nanoparticles of bismuth ferrite (BFO) modified through the growth of the Fe-based MIL-101 framework. Material characterization, conducted using various techniques (X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, FTIR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies), confirmed the growth of the MIL-101 metal–organic framework on the BFO surface. The obtained system possesses the intrinsic photo-degradative properties of BFO nanoparticles significantly enhanced by the presence of MIL-101. The photocatalytic activity of this material was tested in antibacterial experiments conducted under natural sunlight exposure within the nanocomposite concentration range of 100–0.20 µg/ml. The MIL-modified BFO showed a significant decrease in both Minimum Inhibiting Concentration and Minimum Bactericide Concentration values compared to bare nanoparticles. This confirms the photo-activating effect of the MIL-101 modification. In particular, they show an increased antimicrobial activity against the tested Gram-positive species and the ability to begin to inhibit the growth of the four <jats:italic>Escherichia coli</jats:italic> strains, although at the maximum concentration tested. These results suggest that the new nanocomposite BiFeO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>@MOF has been successfully developed and has proven to be an effective antibacterial agent against a wide range of microorganisms and a potential candidate in disinfection processes.</jats:p>

Topics

• nanoparticle
• nanocomposite
• surface
• x-ray diffraction
• experiment
• transmission electron microscopy
• Bismuth