Ag-ZnO photocatalyst anchored on carbon nanofibers: Synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic activities

•Ag-ZnO NPs decorated carbon nanofibers were successfully prepared.•It exhibited a strong photocatalytic and antibacterial activities.•It can be considered as a cheap and effective material for wastewater treatment.

In this study, a novel photocatalytic and antibacterial Ag-ZnO decorated carbon fiber composite was synthesized by a simple electrospinning method followed by the hydrothermal treatment. Aqueous suspension containing Ag and ZnO precursors with the carbon nanofibers was kept in the hydrothermal process at 140 °C for 2 h to obtain a homogenous distribution of Ag-ZnO NPs throughout the surface of carbon fibers. The studies of the photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and antibacterial performance against Escherichia coli (E. coli) indicated that the as-synthesized composites show enhanced adsorption, visible-light-driven photocatalytic, and antibacterial properties than that of pristine ZnO particles. Therefore, this work provides a facile method of the preparation of carbon fiber based composites which may have potential applications in the environmental fields.